The Life of Effie Blackwood
by PixieGirl17
Summary: When Effie is attacked by a pack of vampires and turned into one herself her life is turned upside down. Angered by the death of her family and for being condemned a monster for eternity she sets out on a pursuit for those who wronged her...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Prologue

1863

For **Terrorist Of The Seven Seas**

_As she lied on the floor, drowning in blood she felt nothing. Whenever she looked back on that memory, even a century after it happened she still found it difficult to get her head around this paradox. Maybe that was what it was truly like to be dead. Not just physically but mentally as well, completely cut off from all emotion and feeling. It was like they had drained out of the ability to feel anything from her. The physical and emotional pain which had been thrown upon her was so intense and numbing she was no longer able to feel anything. It sent her nervous system into overdrive it simply shut down altogether. Her heart just felt like one big black hole that was empty and couldn't be filled. What was she going to do now? Eventually the blood exiting her body was going to stop until she had none left but she was still going to be able to get to her feet and walk away. She was still going to walk away from this but not alive. An immortal, demonic being who should be dead but due to the nature of her existence was going to defy all logic and break all the rules of nature. _

_Everything was covered in blood. The walls, the ceiling, the carpet was painted with a bloody blur like the swiftness of their intrusion. It was strange, that morning she made an extra effort to clean the house and now everything was gone to waste. Just like the rest of her life. It was if she might as well of not made the effort at being human. He, she or it was so fast it was almost like a dream. Something surreal and from another world. She wanted to lie there forever. She wanted to wake up and wish it was all just a nightmare. She was that tired, that exhausted that she wanted to close her eyes and rest in her own death. She wanted to will herself to die even though she knew deep down now that was never going to be an option for her. But she was too awake to realise that this was all happening. The deed was done. Her hands could never be washed of this pain she was now feeling. Or the unstoppable, destructive force that had entered her home and life, smashing everything into a million pieces. All that she believed, all that she had was all gone and she had no idea of where to begin. Now idea of what to believe any more. However one thing she knew was this. That nothing was ever going to be the same again. _

_Sixty years later..._

_This was going to be a long night, _Effie thought to herself as she looked around at the empty streets. She had to get something to eat and there wasn't a soul in sight. She could feel her hands shaking she was afraid that she was going to grab the next orphaned street urchin running by her and drag them into an alleyway. She would prefer to not attack children. Strangely enough she was still able to retain onto some virtues...The night was dark, casting a black blanket across the city tempting any vampires residing in the city for a hunt. Effie was sure that it was dark enough for hunting. Dark enough to take an unsuspecting stranger by the shoulder, drag them into the darkness without even uttering a whisper. No one would hear. No one would know, especially if it was a prostitute or a drunkard. Thankfully, the stories of Jack the Ripper still went on, Effie took that as a blessing to a certain extent but at the same time she knew that it may leave a trail that would lead to her so she had to be careful. As she always was. She waited round a street corner, enveloping herself in the shadows embrace. Her dark blue eyes glistened like diamonds in the darkness, hungrily searching for her prey. She felt no moral obligation to what she was doing. She knew it was a necessity. It was how she lived and that was that.

_You keep telling yourself that. _Her conscience told her. _The same could be said for your own family._

She shivered against the cold wind as if it was the voice in her head itself stroking against her skin, whispering into her ear, threatening to ensnare her with its claws. Even vampires could get scared. She was sure there was a way that even a vampire could die, that was the only thing left to fear really. The _true _death. Hell, what a thought. If vampires could get scared she could only imagine the terror coursing through the veins of her victims before she dug her fangs into their skin. She should be able to remember considering that she had been turned therefore should know how terrifying it is but she was finding it difficult to remember what it was like to be human. Humans were scared of more things than vampires. Humans thought they were bullet-proof when really it was the real monsters who were. But at the same time they really weren't. They weren't completely immune from death either. Being human was like a dream now rather than the other way round. But right now, her life as a damned immortal was like a continuous nightmare that would never stop. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the memory and banged her head against the brick wall. That was the right way to get her to become more psychotic.

Whenever she tried to recall her life as a human being she began trying to behave like one, entrapping the beast inside for a while, making it more wild and hungry. Every aspired to be something that they weren't but there was a point where it got...not just ridiculous but also dangerous. For a vampire to pretend they were human was...It was the most impossible thing to do. Eventually she couldn't control it any more making the next kill even more bloody and violent. She could remember making her own bloody mess, as bloody as her own death in a hotel room making her flashback to what happened to her all those decades ago. Never was she going to do that again. One time she had to fled the city because it was so dangerous for her. And people died in cities all the time. Lately the memory of her being changed had been coming back to her. Why now? Why was it bothering her so much now? She couldn't think of any good reason why...Whether she liked it or not. She still had something of a conscience left in her, but she knew she was doing this out of necessity not out of greed or desire.

"See ya later Ruby." A cockney accent called from across the street.

Effie looked up and spied a curvavious woman, with breasts almost bursting out of her tight-fitted cheap dress and flaming red hair that could be spotted a mile away. Effie smiled grimly.

_Got ya._

Ruby waved back to the other prostitute before strutting across the street, looking around as if the Prince of England was going to pop out of nowhere and demand a quickie down some alleyway. She had the same smile on her face a predator would have looking for their prey. This only made it easier for Effie. She knew how a predator thinks, especially the amateurs. Effie knew she was going to get something tonight, just something she didn't expect. She had attacked some women and yes some of them were ones who preferred the company of other women but not so often. It was more men who preferred the company of other men, hence her appearance. She saw her approach the corner she was stood by and took in a deep breath. She knew what to do, she just had to calm herself first. To resist herself from losing control and making a scene and not to panic about the whole thing. It was something she had to do. She took a deep breath and stepped out in front of Ruby.

She stepped back and blinked. "Oh! Sorry darlin' I didn't see ya there." She looked Effie up and down in her man's attire. Effie's tall, skinny stature made it easier for her to be able to carry off the look. Effie gave her smirk and swaggered over to her.

"You alright, sweetheart." She spun round and gave her an arm to hold onto.

Ruby flickered her eyelashes and took all of this rather meekly. She was probably used to men behaving like this in order to attract her attention. Of course there were others who were a little more straightforward and business like. Effie on the other hand liked to be polite. That was how she was raised after all. Bad habits died hard she supposed. It wasn't necessarily a bad habit anyway but it was a little unusual considering she drank the blood of humans...After all she was going to be killing this young lady tonight, she might as well balance out things a little bit. Without thinking about it, she reached out to stroke her face. She looked so young, so beautiful, so delicious, so full of life. She could hear the beat of her heart pumping all that blood circulating around her body. She almost felt sorry for her but she always had to put those thoughts away. She didn't look any older than nineteen, if you looked beyond the make-up which she had plastered on her face. Effie smiled sadly. She was about the same age. Forever twenty-years of age. She would never grow to be a day older. She would never have wrinkles or white hair. She would never die, warm in her bed. Always condemned to be cold for eternity. She was going to be more merciful to Ruby. She was going to spare her the sufferings of eternal life.

"Really. I've never met some like you. With so much swagger." Ruby jingled her breasts slightly when she tried to imitate her. She was afraid they were going to fall out.

Effie smirked. "Well, its a gift really."

Ruby smiled a conspirators smile, her hand sliding down her leg. "Oh yeah. I know plenty of little tricks myself. Some have even told me that I have certain gifts."

Effie exhaled deeply. "Really? What gifts might those be?" She chuckled.

"Well why don't I show ya?" She asked, slowly circling the button on her trousers. Effie grabbed her wrist, a bit too roughly and held up a hand.

"I like to treat my ladies well. I prefer not to do this in an alley way. Come round to my place."

Ruby took a step back and gave a little giggle. "Well look at you. You've got charm and you got manners. Is there anything else I should know about?"

What a question to ask. How appropriate and how terrifying the answer would be. The old tale of Red Riding Hood came to Effie's mind when 'Ruby', if that was her real name, asked her this question. It was a rather dangerous question to ask a stranger. Sometimes it was best if you didn't know the answer sometimes. Effie took a few steps back knowing that there was certainly something she should know about her. Perhaps if she walked back further enough she would be able to stop herself, give her some money and send her into the night to find some other 'suitor'. But Ruby couldn't walk out on fate and fate dealt her with the worst luck that most people in her professional could be given. She should run away from her and not look back but she knew that this was necessary. She had to do something to keep the beast at bay. She had to satisfy its hunger in small tributes. She had to appease it otherwise she would pay for her intolerance. Besides, Effie knew she wasn't going to make much of a life as a prostitute. In a way she was doing her a favour. She was saving her from the anguish and suffering. She no longer had to continue degrading herself to nothing more than the dirt of the ground. Instead she would be in the ground. She held out a hand and smiled darkly.

"Nothing more." She whispered.

Ruby eyelashes flickered in the gaslight and slid her fingers into hers. Effie drew her arm back into herself leading her into the darkness...


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter One

For **RedHarlequin**

1863

_Effie was looking out the window as she waiting for her brothers and father to get home from the mill. She was also washing the dishes as she usually did at that time of day. She never admitted to this but the only reason why she did that specific job was because so that she could always see them walking towards the house on the horizon. So that she could be the first to know that they were home. She never liked them going off to work. It was a necessity in order for them to live happily but she never liked it when they were away. The idea of them being so far away pained her. In an ideal world she never wanted to be parted from her family. She could understand why all her older brothers and her father worked there but what she couldn't understand was why Ewan and Grant were going there. They were only fourteen and sixteen. Father should've been encouraging them to get an education. A lot more lads in their class were getting more chances than they used to nowadays. Not so much but a lot better than when her father was a young boy. Surely he saw that. Their mother would've done so if she were still alive. Not to start working in horrible environments which polluted your lungs. _

_Thankfully she and Moira had been spared. They needed them back home to do the housework anyway. Her father still believed women should stay at home and do the cleaning. It was their only school that would benefit them for the future they were to have. Effie couldn't imagine herself being married but she was sure Moira would catch the eye of many young lads once she was of age and would be married before twenty-one. If a nice enough man came along whom she loved enough by all mean she could marry him. But she highly doubted that she would ever marry. She did earn some money doing sewing. That was the one thing her mother taught her before she died. Amongst other things which she at least considered to be a small mercy in comparison to what happened to other girls who had lost their mothers. Some had been thrown into the role their mother once had without a shred of knowledge of how to run a household. She watched her mother clean the house and even helped her once she was old enough. The one thing she left untaught was how to hold her tongue when she wanted to protest against her fathers opinion. She was never able to teach her how to hold back the tears that had been brought about by so much sorrow. _

_Then she had a guilty thought. One which crept into her mind every now and then. One which she had to keep at bay so long as it didn't invade her mind completely. As she stood there looking out the window she felt so trapped. Between coldness and passionate tears. Freedom and imprisonment. Strength and helplessness. They could go out into the world, maybe not to a life which they desired but she had to remain here and wait. She had to be the Penelope waiting for her Odysseus, forever watching those waves waiting for a ship to dawn on the horizon. Her husband waving to his wife, anticipating the next time they would at last embrace. Effie was filled with a great wave of apprehension, as if something was coming and she couldn't stop it. Something that was going to change everything. _

_Sixty years later..._

Effie sighed as she drank the gin and tonic the bartender brought her a few minutes ago. She was almost finished but it wasn't nearly enough to drown away the pains which were occupying her thoughts. After she had taken Ruby on a ride in the carriage to the cottage she drained her completely of her blood. It almost brought back that evening from all those years ago. Not even a hundred years had passed since that day which had changed her and her life. She damned that day every time she woke to the sun. She was even surprised she looked at the sun. Most of those stories about vampires were absolute crap she couldn't believe it. The stakes and crosses were right though. Humans were right about that one.

"You alright, son?' The bartender asked. She looked up and thought how she was older than this man. He looked down at her with paternal concern but she was probably twice his age.

She smirked. "Nah. I'm alright." Putting on her best boys voice. "Just got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah. Plenty of blokes come here with plenty to think about. You may not think it at your young age but I've had plenty of people come in here tellin' me all sorts of things. Had all sorts of problems. But I don't allow myself to carry the world on my shoulders. Whatever it is you're worrying about it'll pass."

"Hm. Hopefully." She grunted.

She handed him some coins after she finished the drink and waved goodbye. She could have gotten another drink and that would be able to dull the pains which were caused her mind and body to ache so much but what would be the point? Was there any benefit to drown yourself in such an addiction? One was bad enough she didn't want another vice for her to deal with. Plus, it made it easier for the ghosts to come back and haunt her. The cold night air was the best way to keep her in the real world and stop her from drifting back to the company of the dead. When she stepped out into the cold, night air she wrapped the coat around her. Even though she was condemned to be eternally cold and without a heart beat she could still feel the bitter night wind biting against her skin. Her footsteps echoed across the streets, her breath could be seen in front of her it was so cold. She sighed. Whenever she looked up at the stars she never felt so alone. She felt so far away from the rest of her kind, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen or conversed with one. She wondered whether she was the only one there. She wouldn't be surprised if there was someone else who had gone after the Alinari. They had enough malice and hatred to wrong enough people with one strong enough to kill them.

"You look you have a lot on your mind." A voice said. She spun round and found a man with an unshaven face and in a suit smoking a cigarette.

"Someone who spends too much time staring up at the stars has too much on their mind and there's no point. There's no answers to be found up there."

"Many people seemed to think so. Some still do." She retorted.

He chuckled. "Doesn't mean that they're right."

Effie turned back to him and frowned. What a strange thought. It had been something she had been struggling with for so long. Surely if there was anything good to come out of what she was that was the gift of immortality and when you're having to consider the pros of a condition such as theirs its always best to find a good use to channel that into. Humans were wrong about a lot of things but personally she believed they were right at least about that. That even just a little bit of morality in someone, even a vampire would never do anyone any harm. There was something about him that wasn't human. His movements were that of a predator. One that was something of a spectator, an observer rather than a participator. There was also something in his eyes which told her that he had lived more years that his physical appearance gave off. His pale face as well. It was undeniable. He was...

"You're a vampire." She breathed.

He turned to her, there was a spark of surprise but his posture was still relaxed. "Yes. I'm surprised you can tell."

She titled her head to the side. "Well...that's because I'm one too."

"I know. I also know you haven't got a guardian at the gate hiding under those trousers."

"Well if you can tell I'm a vampire-"

"What's your name?"

Effie hesitated. After years of searching she was finally face to face with another of her kind. "Effie."

"Effie." He held out a hand. "I'm Ivan."


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: I started a tradition of dedicating chapters to people who reviewed, alerted or favourited the story I've just finished for Howl's Moving Castle so as of now I'll be doing so with this one, starting with...

Chapter Two

For **Loving-the-greek-system**

1863

_She never hated her sister, nor blamed her for the death of their mother. Most people wanted to find something or someone to blame when they lost someone but if that was the case they might as well hate all the doctors in the world who 'failed' to save those who were simply supposed to die. Everyone died, some people's deaths just came sooner than others. Whenever she looked down at her into her bright brown, lively eyes she saw nothing but the kindness that she inherited from her mother. That was what stopped her from hating Moira. Whenever she saw her running around, chasing butterflies she saw the spirited, youthful nature her stern, wise mother was able to retain. Una Blackwood had died on a cold winter night while giving birth to who would be her youngest child and daughter, Moira. A night where life would awaken as well as death closing in. Due to the weather the doctor was unable to arrive in time for the birth and since there was no professional help in the process she had died. _

_Effie personally thought that the doctor was afraid of braving the storm. However, years after this happened, her scorn and hatred began to wane, knowing that it would be no way to honour her mothers memory by eternally damning another being by making presumption to clarify such an event. When even she may have been reduced to being weakened rather having died. She blamed the weather for her death. She always did, the winter always brought a death of a child or grown adult in the village. The winter was to bring such things, as it marked the end as the spring brought new beginnings. It was the way of things, there was no point in stopping and crying when things needed to move on, as nature always did. You cannot stop nature from moving and sooner or later it will drag you along with it. She still couldn't deny missing her, but she could see her in everything around her. In the flowers which she planted. Or the windows which she washed. When she looked up at a summer's sky or a starry night. There she no longer had to feel so alone. She had no need or excuse to miss her because she was always there. She was just sad that Moira was unable to see it. _

_You could only see it if you knew her. Some people looked at Moira when she walked by with Effie in the market and there would be old women whispering behind their hands as they looked at her as if she was some walking curse haunting the village. Effie took her hand and glared back at anyone who dared to meet her eyes. She couldn't say anything to them but she could at least warn them from afar. She couldn't protect her as much as a mother could. It was a sad thing for a daughter not to know her mother. She looked up from cutting the meat for the pie to see if she could see her father and brothers in the horizon. There was no one to be seen on the horizon. Only shadows. For a moment she thought she had seen someone there, as if they were watching her. It was someone on the hills and she could even feel their eyes burning into her from that far distance. She shook her head and looked away thinking it shouldn't anything that she should bother herself with any further. The sky was now glowing an amber orange with the sun sinking into the earth. She smiled faintly as she felt the warmth of the sun resting on her face and sighed. She was becoming worried by the fact that they were working longer hours than what they were contracted to work. Then again these days the workers hardly had any rights. She was always hoping that one day that would change. They themselves hardly had any freedom. _

_She always worried, that was what her father told her. She worried too much. She was like her mother he claimed but she highly doubted it. She could see nothing of her mother in herself, whether she was looking into the mirror or her soul. She only saw darkness there. Something stirring within her waiting to be unleashed. Like a wild animal pretending to be domestic. It reminded her of someone she read about in a novel she had heard of. She couldn't read that well so there would be no point in her buying it herself but it was more or less banned anyway. That was another reason why she was nothing like her mother. Her mother wouldn't dare read a book like that. Neither would Moira. Moira was more like their mother. She could see her being happy and content in this life whereas Effie wanted something more. It was selfish of her to be unhappy but that was just the way that she was. Effie on the other hand, was like their father. Strong-willed, sometimes quite angry and passionate. She was scared that one day something bad was going to happen as a result of these flaws, as far as she could tell Moira didn't have any let alone if she had any which would get her in trouble one day. _

_She wanted to believe everything was going to get better but she knew that something was coming to get her. A beast was going to ensnare her. She could see it now, even in broad daylight. Something lurking in the darkness licking its lips in anticipation. Blood dripping from its fangs. She was haunted by it since she was a little girl. She didn't know what it was or what it meant but she knew it was a bad omen for something. Sometimes she wondered whether it would be better if she just left. If she could she would walk into the horizon and never look back. She longed to. She wished to be set free like a caged bird wishing to fly out into the open sky. If she had no obligations she walk out the door and never look back. But she knew that she couldn't. She wouldn't. Because this wasn't the case. She had her brothers and her little sister to care for. Since they had lost their mother she had to fill that role which Moira was denied and that her father and brothers needed. Her father wouldn't be able to manage the house without her and her sewing had very much saved them from almost reaching debt. It was her duty, but what if duty wasn't enough? What if you got tired of what your duty was and wanted a purpose instead?_

~ (***) ~

Ivan and Effie sat silently on the bridge, dangling their legs off the side. Dangling off the side made her feel light and almost like a child again. She couldn't remember her childhood all that well any more. It was so long ago now. It seemed like a fuzzy, broken record player trying to play a once much loved tune. She had been talking for the past few hours talking about her life and her family. It was so strange after not talking about them for so long. Talking about them so openly almost felt liberating. She almost began to forget the concept of a family. Almost like recalling Santa years after discovering he was nothing more than a whimsical tale invented by adults in order to make Christmas more interesting. It had been that long. Even though it was sixty years ago when it happened she had been able to speak or think about it so intently. She supposed that she had simply learnt not to think about it. It was one of those things which took her back to her human morals of not killing others. She had to leave that life behind her. However since she was no longer a human being those sort of morals never really applied to her. She would be able to label that sort of thing as a necessity.

"It's so strange isn't it?" She mused as she looked out onto the horizon.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"How when you make your first kill its something that comes naturally. You just take them into the darkness, feed on them. Its almost like natural imperative. A necessity."

Ivan looked up thoughtfully and the nodded. "Yes, I suppose it is. Well its quite refreshing. Some vampires your age are still at the 'I still don't understand what I am' and 'I'm sure there's a way of trying to be like humans' stage. The sad thing is there is no way. They suddenly realise that its impossible. You're a changed being and therefore you have a different set of moralities to follow."

"Were you like that?" He turned to her and shrugged.

"Who isn't? Except for you of course. You seem to have your head quite firm on your shoulders."

She scoffed. "Believe me, there are some things I'm still trying to figure out. What I'm to do with my life. How long this is going to go on. I mean the whole killing thing I can deal with, but it also seems so monotonous. It almost feels...boring. There has to be something else I can do, I can be. Do you understand at all what I'm getting at?"

Being lost was a sad thing. That was something Effie knew she and Ivan shared to some extent. Loneliness was something which enabled someone to loose their way or lack in purpose. If someone had something or someone to live or, in their case, continue going through life, for it was at least something. But as she could see none of them had anyone. They were lone wanderers looking from some form of companionship, whether it was platonic love or not it was something to fill that void. Something which could convince themselves that they were capable of feeling something. They at least deserved that from whoever changed them into these monsters which lurked amongst the living to be able to at least pretend that they could feel something in those hearts which no longer beat to the gentle rhythm of time, without knowing when their eternally stopped clock would stop ticking. If they didn't have that all they had was being the monsters they were. All they could immerse themselves in was the blood which they thirsted for.

Ivan frowned and inclined his head to the side. "Kind of. It sounds to me like you want some form of purpose but really the purpose of a vampire is to be on the top of the food chain."

She tilted her head and nodded. "Yeah, I know that. But I want something more than that."

"Like what?" He almost laughed. "You can travel the world."

"I could." She sighed. "I could, but once you see the entire world what then."

"Well with a bit of luck you may have figured that one out by then. Hopefully." He replied with a smile on his face. She returned the smile seeing beyond the monstrous face to a handsome man, with some wisdom and experience. There was something paternal about him. She knew that he probably had a motive or two but still there was something there.

"Ivan."

"Yes?"

"Do you think companionship is possible?"

"Between two vampires yes. But with anything else no."

"You mean humans?"

"Ah there aren't just humans there are also werewolves and other such creatures." He mused. "I've never met one, but I know that if we can exist there are more possibilities which stretch further than a human mind."

"I suppose so." Effie mused. Maybe she wasn't so alone after all...


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Three

For **MaxRideRox**

1863

"_They're back!"_

_Effie looked up saw six hulking figures walk toward the house. She knew who they were without having to think about it. A smile dawned on her face as the sunrise awakened and welcomed a new day. The two younger ones were skinnier and smaller than the other four. Effie couldn't understand why the mangers at the mill still allowed them to work there. After she thought of that her smile faded away. Her smiles never seemed to remain for long. They even looked younger than their ages. It was something she just couldn't understand and should probably let go. She was dealing with that of which belonged to the world of men. She should be more concerned with that of her own. This was her life and this was how it was always going to be. There was nothing she could do which could change that. Still there was that place in her heart which was aching for something else. For something more and to be able to voice her feelings and to be able to do what she wanted to do. To say what she wanted to say. In her heart there were battle cries desperate to escape from within. However these sorts of dreams were only fantasies. She turned back to the window and sighed, deciding to take what she could from life. She chased after Moira as she raced towards them, stretching her arms out wide. _

"_Father!" She cried. "Welcome home."_

_He chuckled, brushing his fingers through her hair. "It's good to be home." He whispered in her ear. His voice was husky with old age and polluted by poisonous smoke but Effie tried to ignore it. She closed her eyes and rubbed his back. _

"_I'm glad you're home." _

_They broke away and wrapped her arms around his and led him back to the house with her brothers following them and her sister skipping about them happily. If she had any choice in the matter this would how things would be. _

~ (***) ~

After that night Effie thought she was going to go with Ivan. She considered it for a while. She even thought for a moment that she might have been in love with him. He was wise, mysterious, handsome. But there was none of that spark that everyone was talking about when they claimed to have fallen in love. She just wasn't feeling it. She was feeling some form of a connection which human and vampire alike do feel. She felt some form of an affection for Ivan. Just not as his companion but as his daughter. She had that same feeling when she welcomed her father home one last time when she first saw him. His rugged, unshaven face and his soft eyes reminded her of her own father. They looked nothing alike but it was those small details which made them feel the same. He also had the same warmth about him. He was more slender and more intelligent than her father but there was something inside him which reminded her of Rory Blackwood. It almost made her want to go with him. They could easily travel as father and daughter. She knew he would never see her as anything other than a daughter. However in the end they didn't. They knew they had to part ways, she was assured now that she wasn't the only one who existed. That there was the possibility for there being more of them. She didn't need him any more.

The first place she went to after meeting Ivan was Germany. There was no particular reason she just decided to go. She had heard of it being mentioned in a conversation and thought 'why not'. She was merely going on a whim. Almost as if to kill time, well she had plenty of it. She just thought of a place and decided on the first place she thought of and Germany came up as that place. She could've spun round a globe and pointed on the only place fate placed her on. She had to accept that now. Even though vampires could really be the masters of their own fate they still weren't indestructible. They could still be killed. So she decided to make the most out of life as she could while she was still here. Providence decided to give her another chance at life and she was going to take it. The country had been ruined by a war of its own wrecking. There were philosophers still yearning for purpose. It was a sad place. It was a beautiful place. She went to the Black Forest and it felt like a lair for vampires. That thought made her laugh. The mist hovering above the ground was so alluring. The mountains were so vast and unbelievable but still it was something which reminded her of home. She smirked to herself when she looked over her first German mountain range, thinking she should feel lucky when the first place she came to could offer her some sense of comfort. Instead it made her feel more unsettled. It made her ache even more.

_This isn't your home, Effie. _She thought. _You're going to have to look harder than that. _

She didn't know that when she first arrived in Germany that she was going to consider it one of the most beautiful places which also happened to remind her of home. There weren't many places she would go which would be able to do both of those things. But she so yearned for a home but soon she would have to feed. Always the one problem which she would always have. Her gift. Her burden. Her necessity. Her curse. That was what it was. All those four. You couldn't go without either of them and all of them accompanied one another. It was as simple as that. She would feed on those she could and then it would all point to her. Small communities were the most dangerous places to live in. They were the most peaceful of places where one would wish to settle down but...That was never going to be possible for her. This wasn't something she was told, this was something she picked up by herself. If you lived in a city where murders happened all the time it was clumsily blamed on the current serial killer. Whereas in the small towns and villages, some way or another the finger was eventually pointed at the right person.

Then she would be burned at the stake. Even those days had long passed she still had no faith in humanity being merciful, let alone loosing their ferocity against something which wasn't exactly human. No, she had to be the ever wandering shadow upon the earth. It was the safest way to live other living in the city. But she was so restless in the city. She could never feel peaceful in a city. She always felt so innocent and cleansed in the countryside amongst the mountains and the hills. A city polluted you. After those days of watching her father walk from work she would always been grateful that she could stay in her clear-aired sphere rather than wondering out into his world. She so yearned for a place to live out the rest of her days, however long that may be but she knew in her heart that this was an impossibility. So many things were possible for her. Yet there where a thousand more things which were impossible for her to be now. She couldn't have a normal, peaceful life because she was no longer human. She was a vampire. An immortal, bloodthirsty being. Vampires thirsted for blood. Vampires were creatures who lived for hunting humans. Living in a hilltop in a small cottage was not for that of a vampire. When she thought of that sunlit cottage, surrounded by mountains, drowning in hills with a sparkling lake behind it was a fantasy. A fantasy which never failed to bring tears to her eyes.

Being in Germany brought all these hopes and dreams which made her ache in places she didn't know she had and eventually it soon became unbearable. She loved the whole country. It reminded her of the world which she was encapsulated in as a child. She thought about those days when she would run into the wilderness of her home and she would almost behave as she did now. As if time was no longer a concept she had to be associated with or even worry about because it had no influence over her anymore. She had come to love the place so much she knew she had to leave. That was when the warning sign was shown. When she came to love a place so much that she never wanted to leave she knew it was time to depart. If you came to love something so pure and natural it was something you were eventually going to destroy because that was just the way the world worked. She had to leave that land of tall mountains, deep valleys and vast forests. She had to continue wandering about the world as if she didn't exist. She felt like the wind, you could feel her presence but you never saw her because she was so swift, her stay was so brief that you missed her within the blinking of an eye.

After Germany she decided to go to Italy. Another beautiful place she would come to love and also somewhere which would determine her fate. She didn't know it then but if she didn't go there, if she decided to go somewhere else, the turn of events in the next few decades would have gone in a completely different direction. It would still all be rather mundane and boring. She would never begin to discover the true nature of her existence. Or not as soon as she did. She heard it was beautiful there and was thriving more than it was in Germany. Then again it was hard not to beat Germany on that front. She was glad to see that no many people were on the train that day. Less temptation but still she was rather surprised since it was supposed to be a popular place for people to travel to. The solitary being that she was, she took the first carriage which was empty. She also chose it for practical reasons of not being tempted to have a snack on the journey. When she travelled, strangely enough she travelling in women's clothing. Of course, it would probably be safer for her to dress as a man but she felt she had to have some time for her to be herself. She looked out the window bidding Germany goodbye until her solitude was disturbed by an elderly gentleman. He smiled at her.

'_Hello.' _He greeted in German. Effie had picked up some German, then again anyone could understand when a German was saying hello to you. '_Is anyone going to be sitting here?'_

She shook her head and indicated for him to sit. He gave her a grateful smile. _'Thank you.'_

He put away his suitcase on the top shelf and propped himself across from Effie. He held out a hand for her to shake.

_'Albert Braune. Lovely to meet you.'_

She smiled sweetly. _'Vera Raven. Likewise.'_

_'So, why are you here in a lonely cabin?' _He inquired, making her laugh.

'_I...am going to visit my uncle. He lives in Italy and is not very well and needs a housekeeper and a nurse to help him. No one in the family thinks he's going to live for very long and tell me I'm just wasting my time. But he was an uncle I loved very much. He did so much for me as a child after my father died. It would just feel wrong not to help him when so many times he helped me.'_

He nodded with a warm smile on his face. _'You are an admirable woman, Miss Raven. Or Mrs Raven?'_

She laughed. '_No, it is Miss Raven.' _She assured him.

He raised his eyebrows. _'Really? No husband? No suitors?'_

She tried to stop her smile from faltering at this point. She had to admit she did yearn for some form of companionship but the right person just didn't come along as it were. Whether they were a vampire or a human she could turn into a vampire. The idea of being with a human full stop was just impractical. She would have to fight the temptation of drinking their blood all the time and it was probably inevitable that they were going to be either turned or become one of her meals so it was most likely better to get it over with in the beginning of the whole affair. Of course she would have to pick someone who was willing to have such a life. Then again who would turn away the chance for immortality. It had its downsides but let's face it. It's immortality. It was every human's dream to be able to live forever. To be able to do what they wished. To be able to have the time to do all that they wished. The only problem was when you had done all that and you had to find something else to occupy the unlimited time you had left. Maybe it would be nice to have someone who could be with you. To share those moments with you, like all humans, vampires needed companionship too. It just took a few decades of loneliness to figure that one out.

_'Mr Braune, if I didn't know better I would say you were making sure you had no competition in _

_courting me.' _She teased.

He chuckled. _'No. I was thinking more of my nephew. I have never married and personally I think its too late for me. However there is one nephew I am going to give my fortune too. He himself is also in need of a wife. Especially one such as yourself.'_

She laughed heartily. _'I barely think I would be the sort of wife your nephew is looking for.'_

_'Oh no, Miss he knows a respectable, bright and beautiful woman when he sees one.'_

She giggled and mused over his last sentence. _Woman. Woman..._


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Four

_1863_

For **Isle of Capri**

_Dinner was very quiet. Sometimes people were fighting over food and Effie and her father had to be the peacemakers. Or there would have been an accident at work and one of her brothers would go into such graphic detail that it would give Moira nightmares for weeks. Today was different. That day was different and she should have seen that as a definite sign for what was going to happen. She should have known what everyone else had felt was a signal for what was about to happen to them all. Effie glanced at her family who solemnly ate their meal without a word. Not even her younger sister spoke a word. She was nattering all dinner time on most occasions. Sometimes she couldn't tell her to be quiet. It was beginning to frighten her. Her family were never like this. Her father always had something to say as did her younger sister. Her brothers would tease each other and try to steal each others food. The dinner table was so still tonight. Effie couldn't remember them having a quieter dinner. The sun was dim as it shone through the window as it sunk into the earth. She barely ate any of her meal she had only given herself a small portion as well. She could see that her younger brothers looked like they needed more food anyway so she gave them a little more and she a little less than normal. She wasn't hungry. Something about this day unsettled her. _

_It was like they were all possessed by some demon or evil spirit. She glanced upwards and around the house wondering if it would suddenly appear. She was sure she would go to the vicarage tomorrow morning and ask him what it could be. This was something she couldn't leave or brush off. It had to be something and that something was evil. There were signs painted across all the events of that day up until that moment. She knew in that moment that something was there. She didn't know whether it was any of the thoughts which we encircling in her mind or whether it was some sort of omen. She knew it wanted its presence to be known. These evil beings fed off fear. They needed someone to be aware and afraid so that it would grow strong enough to be able to takes in prey when they went in for the kill. She was never the type to be suspicious but there was something eerie hanging about the house. She went to church and she heeded the advice that she heard in the sermons but she never let such things bother her like this. Then again she had never felt something like this. She never had the feeling in her gut that she was being watched. It was ss if some wolf was prowling about the house and waiting to spring upon the inhabitants once they were asleep and helpless. _

"_Effie." She looked up when she finally heard her fathers gruff voice. "Are you not hungry?" He asked with a concerned look on his face. She shook her head trying to look as if she didn't have a care in the world. _

"_Not really." Giving him a forced, bright smile. "Do you want some more?" She held up the plate, offering her father some more._

_He blinked and shook his head. "No. I'm just...concerned, darling. That's all. I've just noticed that you've been eating less than usual."_

"_There's no need, father. I'm fine." She looked away out the window. It was starting to get dark. "I might get some candles. It's starting to get dark." She got to her feet and touched her father on the shoulder as she passed him by. _

_He glanced up at her and smiled. It was the sort of the smile where he knew that there was something wrong but he had the confidence in her to know that she would be able to deal with it herself. He knew she was a tough lass. She had to be when she had to grow up without a mother. She took in a deep breath when she reached the cupboard. She opened it in one swift movement and reached in to grab the candles. However she stopped herself when she was about to take them out. Her body was shaking all over. Why was she lying to her father? She never lied to her father. She had always remembered being honest about her feelings with her father, even if it got her in trouble. She was an open book with him. There were so many uncertainties and fearful thoughts buzzing about her mind. She wasn't able to think, she sometimes felt like she couldn't breathe. She found herself gasping for breath as if she had been suffocated or drowned. A shadow was passing over her life as she knew it. Or had it always been there? Her rips felt like they were being crushed together or as if someone reached down her throat and held her heart in an iron grip. Was it because she was feeling trapped? What was it to be trapped? She was sure that she was free to walk out the door when she wished. Her father wouldn't chase after her. Or was she trapped because she allowed herself to be?_

_When she pulled out the candles she heard a chorus of screams coming from the kitchen. She spun round, picking up her skirts. _

"_Father? Moira?" She cried. When she reached the kitchen she found what was once a pristine now covered in blood. Everyone was lifeless and soaked in blood. It was so horrifying that she couldn't even scream._

~ (***) ~

The bright, sparkling sunlight that was shining through the window welcomed her into the capital of Italy as the train came to its destination. She blinked when it shone directly in her eyes. It caught her eye too sharply and was too eager to welcome her there without knowing what it was that it was welcoming. It had no idea that it was allowing a demon to enter the city. She had never seen anything like it, she had seen many beautiful places but Rome was a place like she had never seen before. Decades before when she was a human, if she had been told she would ever come to a place like this she would have laughed. It was almost like the city was glowing with gold, with tall buildings which had been designed so delicately. They were tall and strong like mountains, beautiful like mountains, with the subtlety in their colour and texture. She could see that the architects cared about their work, that they wanted to nurture the creation of a building as if it were their child. She reached out to touch the cold, hard glass wanting to brush her fingers against the buildings, against the warm breeze which danced around the city streets. She turned to the empty seat in front of her which had remained so for a few hours. The hunger has become so overwhelming he had taken the sweet, kind Mr Braune as a snack. She had given him a painless death by waiting until he slept. A man like him deserved a death in his sleep.

She sighed and took down her suitcase, heading down the corridor. She did regret taking peoples lives like that. Just taking the opportunity and then trivialising not only their death but their lives as well. Almost as if they didn't matter. It was almost coming to the point where she did really regard humans as humans regarded their pigs. Live stock. That was all they were to her now. It was funny to believe that she was a human once. She glanced around the carriage nervously and felt herself begin to sweat. She felt so confined, she couldn't breathe. The air about her was so suffocating and she began to sweat all over her body. She could feel it dripping down her back, below her armpits and up her arms. She accidentally bumped into a tall, slender young man who grinned down at her. He had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. His cheekbones were so defined and his features so sharp, yet his face was so soft. She rolled her eyes and carried on down the carriage. Despite that he was handsome she knew she only had one thing on his mind. She hurried down the carriage, desperate to get out, she wanted to get as far away from that carriage as she possibly could. It brought back too many bad memories. She felt such a sense of release and relief when she stepped out onto the platform. She felt that the world so filled with possibility. She was so free. That this was the only happiness she could feel.

She had read up about Rome while on the train journey. She read someones travel book about it. She had given her book to someone she bumped into while walking down the carriages once she had finished and the name had escaped her. There was a legend that there were two brothers, Romulus and Remus. They both decided to build a city however due to an argument Romulus killed his brother and ended up naming the city after himself. It showed how easily it was to kill someone if anyone was capable of killing their sibling over the naming of a city. There were many other things which the name of the city originated from. There were connections with words in other languages. Possibilities including deriving from the Greek language where it could mean bravery and courage. There was also a possible connection with the word teat which could be associated with the fact that they had been adopted and raised by a wolf. She began to wonder what it would be like to be raised by a wolf. In a way, she felt like she had been raised by a wolf. She been reborn on that day where so much of her blood had been shed. A beast had given her a new life where had become the predator which preyed on the mortal and the weak. She was the wolf, not raised by the wolf. She had been born of a wolf. Yet she was not a wolf, not a werewolf anyway. Whatever they were like she couldn't imagine that vampires could be any different to them.

She found a beautiful place in Monti, a district she supposed in the city however they called them Rioni. The name meant mountains. The Italians had such beautiful words, not like German where you had to say so much for so little. She noticed the Italians were quite the opposite and they made speaking almost an art. They wanted life to be so beautiful they made their way of speaking to one another as beautiful and pleasant as possible. She made a mental note to learn the language. She wondered whether that was the reason why she felt at home. She could live here, despite the heat. She would have to stay out of the sun when it was at its brightest. People would always give her strange looks when she went out all wrapped up, a problems was that she always felt cold wherever she went. She was glad that the one myth of vampires not being able to go out in the sun was false but still the world now seemed colder and brighter. To look somewhat conventional and to keep the sun off of her she would carry around a parasol which she bought on the day she arrived. It was so soft, so intricate. In Italy she noticed that everyone took pride in their work and that they made sure that everything they made was beautiful. It was such a beautiful place. She was sure that she would be able to find some peace here.

After she settled in and unpacked her things she decided to take a walk by the river she saw on the way to the apartment. It looked so pretty and like a good place for a pleasant walk. She had missed taking walks. She used to take them all the time before she had been turned now they only time when she went out walking was when she was hunting for 'food'. She waved at the elderly landlady as she walked out and took up her parasol. Her name was Isabella Conti, who was a small and caring childless widow who had decided to rent out what was once a mansion as rooms for people spending a few months in the city. Effie supposed that the old woman had become so lonely in such a lonely house that instead of shutting away the world, began to invite it in. She nodded to anyone who tipped their hat in her direction. For a moment she felt like she was a normal twenty year old woman who hadn't killed possibly over a thousand people. Would she be able to live a dual life? Where she could seem like a normal human being one moment and a take the necessities a vampire needed to the next? She knew that it was an attractive, ideal life however there was always the dangers of bringing someone close to you. You would always have to hold them at arms length. If they came too close they would plunge into the darkness with you. That wouldn't be fair. Like it wasn't fair to take the life of Mr Braune. Only after to justify that she did it out of necessity.

She looked out onto the water and admired the construction of the bridge. The one thing she had gained an interest in over the years was architecture, funnily enough. She looked down at the water, trying to find her reflection only to remember that she was no longer there. She could never look in a mirror and check if she looked alright. It was good that most of the time she dressed like a gentleman since she would no longer have to bother with make-up. Children were running and laughing, another thing that she wondered whether could be a possibility for her. She could never imagine a vampire with a newborn child but she couldn't dismiss it as impossible. She looked around to find the parents trying to calm them down, or more the mother and the father smirking at his wife's attempts to control their children. She supposed that it was a Sunday considering the respectful dress everyone seemed to be wearing. She didn't pay any attention to the days of the week any more. She never noticed what month it was. She allowed the seasons to pass her by. After all she was a mere shadow opposed to a living, breathing being. Humans came and went whereas she would always be here. Time was nothing to her. It no longer applied to her when it came to her lifespan. The clocks could continue to tick but they could never determine when she would draw her last breath. Only destiny could decide that.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: Right here's a new chapter! (Obviously, duh. Well done PixieGirl). Anyway doing a shout to tell you that if you know the series very well you'll notice that I've introduced another character from the mainstream series...

Chapter Five

_1863_

For **Loving-the-Greek-System**

_She stood motionless and emotionless. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. She had never seen anything like it. Not even when her father gutted a pig once was she ever so awe-struck. She only read about things like this in the Bible when God smighted those who wronged him. She touched the walls gingerly to check if it was actually real. She brought her hand to her nose to sniff it. It was blood. She was so thoughtless she accidentally brushed her hand against her lips. She knew the mark was there on her lips. She could feel it. It was tempting her to lick it off but she was too afraid. The thought of drinking her family's blood seemed so...unnatural. She let her hand fall limply against her side and stared around the room at all the dead bodies. She couldn't believe that she had let it into the house. She didn't welcome it through the doorway. She didn't understand how she let it in or how it could have come in but she might as well have done. She didn't warn them. They didn't see but she did. She should have warned them. She simply stared at the bloody chaos which she was surrounded by. One moment it was a family eating around a table silently the next it was a massacre. Now they would be eternally silent. Surely they must have known. That was the only reason why they were quiet. _

_Or was it because she was being quiet. Perhaps they could sense that there was something wrong with her. She wasn't sure whether she had ever seen anything like it. She wasn't sure whether this was real, her imagination could never go this far. She never attempted for it to reach this boundary. Her father had told her stories of the great war decades before and told her of the gore and carnage which she would never have to witness. Now that she could see it for herself she saw there was nothing glorious in bloodshed. Even to witness it was an act of damnation. How foolish and wrong he was but he could never have foreseen the bloody and hellish death he was destined for. No one could. Effie walked amongst the dead bodies of her family still holding the candles in her hand. Her clenched fist shook with such petrified fear she was unable to move another step. Her mind went so numb that she couldn't really see the massacre which she was surrounded by. She couldn't accept it she tried to make herself believe that it wasn't real. That this was nightmare she would soon wake up from. Her families concerned faces would be hovering over her assuring her that they had not been brought to such awful harm, but she knew that this wasn't true. This was just a fantasy. What she could see and smell was real. No matter how much she wanted to deny it. She wanted them to be alive but when she looked into their eyes she saw that they were dead. Their souls had been drained out of their bodies and had drifted to purgatory. _

_She blamed herself. She knew that this was all her fault. It had to be. If she hadn't have warned them when she knew what was going to happen they would have been saved. She should have waved them off. Don't come in. Run. Run far away from her. Don't look back. Leave me here. It wants me. It always wanted me. It was just waiting for the right time to take me. This wouldn't have happened unless she hadn't warned them. She should've warded them off somehow when they returned home not welcome them with open arms. It was like she was his accomplice. She helped him give him what he wanted. Blood. She more or less served his dinner for him. She had lured them to their death and now she would pay by witnessing the diabolical makings of their death. She saw this coming. She knew on some level that there was a dark presence approaching her home. Her mother always told her that she had the second sight. That she was able to see things that others couldn't. When she heard something in the night she went to the window to see if it was a branch or the wind when for a splint second she saw something else. She was sure one night she saw a pair of eyes watching her from the darkness. She could hear its voice in her head telling her to come closer. That everything was going to be alright. That it wouldn't hurt her. She would get so frightened she would run back into bed and cover the sheets over her head, praying for the morning to come. _

_She hadn't heard or felt anything like that until that day. She always knew. She always knew that there was something else out there waiting for her to let it in. All day long she knew that a shadow was hanging above the household and she should've prayed to God to protect them but she failed to do this. She so seldom spoke or regarded God she presumed now that He probably didn't know who she was. God probably abandoned her. Knowing what she was and what she could see. She was damned in his eyes. She was already doomed. There was nothing she could do now to escape from her fate. She knew by sunset she was going to be joining her family. Or more she was going to be joining the Devil. She had failed as a daughter and as a sister. She never had the heart for this life and now she was paying for her sin. Her despair, this horror was her punishment and she deserved every moment of it. She deserved to endure this for a thousand years. Everyday she promised her mother that she would protect and look after them. That was the only prayer she ever made. It was her job to protect them. It was her duty. Now that her mother was gone she had to fill that role and she failed. She should've have foreseen this. It was always the woman's job in the family to be careful and mindful of such things. When her eyes drifted to Moira's she dropped to her knees with hot tears now streaming down her eyes. She had been more wronged than any of them. She was never supposed to suffer. She needed to be protected and watched over more than all of them. She undid the buttons of her dress and tore it open. _

"_Give her life back!" She cried up at the ceiling. "Give her life back! Take mine! It is my fault that this happened! Spare her as you did in the beginning!"_

_She clutched her dead sister's body to her chest and wept. She knew even when she held her in her arms that it was not only her soul which had been emptied from her body. Something else had been taken from her. Something which told her that all the stories were true. All those tales which she had been told at night before she went to sleep so that she wouldn't go out at night were all true. They weren't used to scare her. She was being warned to not go into those dark places in the corners of your soul not in the dark, shadowy emptiness of the night. The night was the least of her worries. It was what was hiding under its shadowy cloak that she should have been worried about. She felt someone's breath on the back of her neck. She wanted to turn around but she was frozen in the spot. She was no longer shaking out of sorrow but out of fear now. She was next. Or was she going to be given a worser punishment? It was warm and threatening like a wolf finally finding its prey which it was able to smell for miles away. But she knew that it wasn't a wolf that was blowing its Hell hot breath in her ear. It was something else which should only belong in the pages of gothic romances. Something which should never be allowed to stalk across the earth. The tears on her face began dry and it sent a shiver down her spine. She dropped her hands to the floor and waited for her death. The figure's breath whistled in her ear. _

"_Would you really give your life in exchange for hers?"_

_She was silent, afraid of answering. His voice was so rich and haunting. It seduced her but also it repulsed her knowing who he was and what he had done. _

"_Do you really want to die?"_

~ (***) ~

She opened her eyes gasping with desperate breaths and found herself blanketed in sweat. It was going to be hard getting used to Rome's heat. She was so used to the cold of the North and after all she was a dead creature therefore she was going to be eternally cold. At least she didn't have to complain about that since she was used to it. So for a vampire to be in Rome seemed to be a little unnatural. She should have re-thought coming her but she was here now. No turning back. She would never go back to where she started. She couldn't think of anything worse than returning home. Just the thought of it. She sighed and threw her head back against the pillow. The room was so stuffy she could hardly breath, not that she needed to be able to breath. She was immortal after all. She was sweating as well. That was a surprise all things considered. She only thought that she would be capable of doing that if she was alive, which she wasn't. She was almost swimming in it. She looked around the room to assure her that she was in the same place she had left herself in before falling asleep. She sighed with relief and threw her head back onto the pillow and took a few moments to calm herself. She peered out the corner of her eye at the window suspicious, ever suspicious of the sun which myth said should be her greatest enemy when reality contradicted it.

The golden, morning sunlight shone through the shutters casting long lines of shadows across her room. It was beautiful when darkness and light met together. She sighed as she rubbed her eyes wondering why the dreams were returning so often now. She had banished these thoughts from her mind long ago. Why did they continue to haunt her? Was there something she was supposed to understand about that day? Or was it that there was something she missed? Was there something she had failed to carry out? She was given this new life and she had come to terms with the burdens it came along with. She still hated him for what he did to her. He took everything from her. He took all her mortality as those boundaries which only a mortal should stay within. He broke down those walls that caged her and left her there to wait and wander out into what laid beyond those restrictions. She had never felt so lost in her entire life. She had some meaning in her mortal life but she always felt somewhat lost in the sense that she had misplaced some unknown purpose. In this case it was a little bearable when she didn't know what it was. When she was first turned she didn't know what to do with herself but once she had made her first kill everything came together but now she didn't know what to do when her mortal life held a secret to the future of her life as an immortal.

She sighed and rolled herself out of bed. She hated getting up in the morning. This was a problem with pretending to be human. You had to get up in the morning but there was something, obviously, unnatural with her doing so and she could feel that. She was a creature of the night not someone who had to get up for work at whatever o'clock in the morning. There was a reason why people referred to any time before nine as 'some ungodly hour in the morning'. It just wasn't right. Especially for her. She didn't have to get out of bed early any more yet she was unable to kick the habit. It was surprising that she was still doing so decades after being turned into a vampire. Maybe it was the one thing she could do everyday without feeling guilty for all of eternity. It was like she was still getting up early for her family. So that she could live every day she had left of her own eternity to make the most of it for them. To make up for their lives they had lost so soon. Too soon. She knew that once she was awake she would become restless and that she would be wasting away the day if she laid in bed all afternoon. She should be doing something productive with the time that she had. There was no certainty of when your time was up when you were an immortal. You could die at any time. She had learnt that some of the myths about her kind were true. She couldn't be seen in a mirror. She could be killed by a stake. She couldn't go into a church. She had to be invited into a house.

Some were true. But she could still go out into the light. Then again she could never waste away the hours. She was eternal. Humans wasted their time enough for all the vampires that existed today. Well, she could be killed but in comparison to humans she was immortal. She wasn't invincible. She knew that she shouldn't fall under that trap. She smiled grimly at the dresses in her wardrobe and carelessly took out a midnight blue velvet she stole from a woman in Paris that she drank from. The woman was so drunk she didn't realise what was going on but this didn't justify Effie's actions. One thing that occurred to her as she put on her dress and pearls was that she had never turned any of these people. She had drank from so many people but she never thought of turning them. She never the procedure, she knew it all too well. She had always yearned for companionship but she never turned anyone. She supposed it was like waiting for your true love. She had simply been unable to find the right person yet. She pondered on turning Isabella Conti. She was sad and alone. She surely would be grateful then Effie realised that this would be unforgivable selfish. The old woman was waiting for her death so that she could be once again be together with her husband. It would pain her to have to live forever in order to wait for that day. No, Effie would never do that to her.

She fluffed her already wavy and bouncy hair and trotted downstairs snatching the shawl that hung from a chair by the door. She had to look somewhat presentable to the rest of the guests within the house. Even though most of them weren't really part of 'civilised society'. She didn't mean that they were all vampires themselves. She just meant that...Well...Some of them were, to put it nicely, like Byron some others were just struggling to get by with money. She skipped down the stairs as if she was still a young girl looking forward to the new day without a care in the world. She loved her new reflexes even having them after so long. When she walked she felt like she was gliding. When she ran she felt like she was flying. When she skipped down the stairs she had no need to fear of skipping. She wrapped it around her shoulders and skipped into the dinner room. Another vampire myth which needed to be clarified. Vampires could actually eat human food. Once she was so desperate for something to eat while she was out in the Scottish wild and came across a farm house. There were no humans but there was food. She was so desperate she ate it all and found over the few days that it didn't harm her in the slightest. It made her wonder why vampires thirsted for human blood if they could eat human food. Soon she began to realise that she knew that it was a necessity. It was like humans needed air to breathe. It was just part of her nature now.

She glanced at the old man who sat across from her. This was Dr Bachman. He was very Dutch. In accent and tastes. He was a pessimistic Jewish doctor who had no faith in the ways of the world. Effie liked him enough however she would prefer that he was a bit more cheerful and perhaps treat her as if she wasn't some loose woman. Another boarder was a young Spanish writer, Gaspar Loyola a womaniser and egotist. The one thing she and Dr Bachman shared was a distaste towards Mr Loyola. At first he was a novelty she was dazzled by but now he had become infuriating. He would always comment and ask her where it came from, telling her that it reminded him of the voice of a gypsy he had met as a youth. She would grudgingly tell him every time that it was Scottish despite it being the third time for that day. The only person that she liked staying there was homosexual there named Carl. Of course, he didn't make this public knowledge but he had told her about it when he invited her to his room. He saw the worried look of her face and told her this to reassure her that he was trying anything. Eventually Carl and Effie had gotten to know each other really well. He was from England so at least they were from the same island. So to speak. He had been raised in a strict Catholic family and eventually couldn't deal with all the issues which had arisen from it and ran away.

However one night there was another thing that Effie had learnt about Carl. Something she least expected to find not only about him but within Rome. He was a vampire. What were the odds? She just thought that she was being a little bit eccentric coming here but as it turned out it was an unexpected hot spot for vampires to visit. One night she was bringing up some red wine to drink with him and knocked on his door. She heard some strange noise and when she pressed her ear to the door she realised what was going on. She was sure that she had heard another male voice and she thought he was having 'private relations' with him. She had met so many homosexuals over the years that she could tell one from talking to them a few times. She didn't want to judge on first occasions so she always left it until the fourth time they had met until she made her judgement and she knew at that point that Carl was gay. He made it pretty obvious at times as well. She heard the sound of slurping and crunching and then it became all too clear as to what was going on in the room. She couldn't believe at first and thought he just had some strange fetish or something but once she listened closely she knew that it was unmistakable. She burst through the door thinking that it was Carl being attacked by a vampire when in fact it was Carl who was the vampire. He was so good hearted and pleasant that he would take in anyone, bless him.

She found it rather surprising that someone so nice could be like her. She had to admit before she was turned to she was reasonably selfish she just knew how to hide it well. He looked up sharply at the intruder. Blood was dripping from his jaw. His eyes were widened with shock and fear. When he was about to step forward she stopped him and told him that she was one too. She could see from the look in his eyes that he finally was able to be reassured that he was not alone. After all those years of travelling without a companion of any kind. After that they spent the whole night talking about disposing of the body. She knew how difficult it could be by yourself. Carl had dreamed of days when he could completely abstain from drinking blood. He didn't drink it as much as he did. In fact he was getting closer to that aim now. Effie stared at him in amazement. She remembered what Ivan had told her and eventually everyone accepts their lot in life. Carl evidently didn't. Despite being older than her he still hadn't let go of that hope. Maybe she didn't question it because she secretly hoped for that too. It was her answer to that little cottage on the hill surrounded by mountains in the middle of the lake. She held his hand for the whole night and laid in an embrace with him until the sun rose the following morning knowing that they would always be together. Not romantically but they would be sharing a bond deeper than that.

The next few days they spent almost every second together. He would offer her his arm and they would tour the city from every street to every ancient monument he was determined to show her the world. Carl would tell her all the interesting facts he knew about Rome and its history which no guide book could tell her. He would sing old Italian songs to her and recite poems from great Italian poets which were about the ache of the heart and soul. Despite the fact that she understood very little Italian she knew that it was beautiful. She was learning. She was learning quicker than she learned German but she knew that it was beautiful. It flowed like music or the gentle waves of a peaceful ocean. Not like other languages which sounded like two stones being rubbed against each other. Carl had become the brother that she had lost all those years ago. Or one of the brothers anyway. She joked to herself that just needed another three to go. He didn't replace a specific brother and she knew that he couldn't but those places which had been lost in her heart were slowly being refilled again. Then there was Ivan to be a father to her. A mother was something she had long lost and could never replace and then there was a sister, which she was certain was impossible to replace.

She heard someone running down the stairs as she sipped her tear and glanced round the corner and smiled.

"Dearest." She sang. Carl looked up a bright smile on his face beamed in her direct.

"Darling." He greeted melodramatically and took her hand and kissed it with brotherly affection.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Six

_1863_

For **MaxRideRox**

"_Yes. I really want to die." She replied soberly._

"_No you don't. I can hear your heartbeat. It's telling me you want to live. You have the heartbeat of someone who wants to be free from such boundaries. You want to live for a thousand years."_

_A thousand years? No one had ever lived for that long. How could someone live for that long? You would have to go all that way alone. Just imagine being alone for a day. Sometimes that was hard work being able to put up with it. But to live alone for a thousand years. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't even want to contemplate on the notion of it. What he was suggesting was a death sentence not an opportunity. As a human she couldn't live for a thousand years. Not as a mortal for that matter and this being was far from being human. It wasn't completely wasteful being human. Sometimes there could be some upsides to being human. You could live and die without regrets because you knew there was never enough time to experience everything. You had that excuse at least. How could someone live for a thousand years? She wouldn't be able to bare it. She would always have this emptiness inside her. Eternally damned to be lonely until some force had come upon her to take her life. That would be a mercy instead of a unfortunate end. How could that be possible? Then again how could everything around her be possible? Now she knew that anything was possible. She wasn't willing to believe in everything which had been dismissed as folklore but still..._

_She shook her head. "Such a thought is an abomination."_

"_No it isn't. It's not a curse. It's a gift. I know your heart is true to her but I know you will regret this decision. I can give you what you desire."_

"_You killed my family. All I desire is to be with them now."_

_The man was silent for a while. Effie was frightened that he would never speak again. She wanted some assurance that he was really there. It almost seemed like a century before he spoke again. _

"_I am sorry to tell you this...but you don't. You want to believe that this is what you want but you don't. So I am going to give you this and I know that one day you will come to thank me."_

_He took her chin and turned it so that they were facing each other. She immediately closed her eyes so that she couldn't see him. He was going to be patient though. He was going to wait until she would dare to look into the eyes of her maker. She closed her eyes fearing to face her death. She heard a voice instead her head commanding her in a soft tone to open her eyes. She knew it was him. That there was nothing to be afraid of. She finally opened them finding herself face to face with an angel and a demon. He was young and old. His eyes looked so old. It had seen too many centuries. They had grown to be emotionless and its icy exteriors hid the warmth which still remained within. He had obtained too much knowledge. He had seen too much. He was young because he was handsome. Evil was hidden behind a beautiful face of skin that looked like pure white silk. Lips which were full like a woman's. The structure of his face was so delicate and intricate that she had never seen a being like him. She loved him and hated him. She loved him for being her angel and she hated him for being her families death. She hated that he used to beauty to hide this fact. She wanted to rip it off his bones. She was ready to become the monster he was determined to turn her into. _

_He tilted his head and craned back her neck. She tilted her head to the side so that he would have no trouble committing the deed. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to escape from her fate unless he had a sudden change of heart or if someone came in and saved her from him. But that only happened in fairy tales. This wasn't a fairy tale. This was a horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. Her heartbeat quickened. He took her wrist gently and supported her head before bringing his lips to her skin. She almost felt that she saw a tender side to him, to the monster underneath the bed. That was the part of the story that was never told. Then again who would be able to believe that a monster had a heart? She could feel his breath on her neck now. It was so warm and hungry. She gulped thinking that she could try to push him away and escape. She tried to move but it was like being held in place by a steel trappings. He was waiting for her heart to be beating as its quickest. He was waiting until her fear was at its peak when this moment arrived he bug his teeth into her neck and she let out a demonic scream. She felt like her blood had been inflamed and her body was being stung by a thousand nettles at once. She struggled but he was able to hold her down. Eventually the pain began to numb her senses and eventually everything turned black. _

~ (***) ~

"Carl, darling. Have you had any lovers?" Effie asked conversationally as she observed the fans.

She had been in Rome for 3 months and she still hadn't got bored of it. She had been to so many different places and she so easily got bored of them because they were all the same. Rome was different though. She knew she would soon have to move on soon. Carl was thinking of going to Florence. He had heard that it was as beautiful and interesting as Rome or if not more son. Effie was finding that hard to believe. Carl looked up and flickered his eyelashes. Effie turned back to him and twirled her parasol and gave him an innocent look. She had drank from many humans but she had never had sexual relations with them. She promised to herself, as human that she would save herself for marriage. However that was when she was a human. She was going to save herself for someone who she cared deeply about and would see herself being with in the coming decades. So that ruled out human victims.

He tilted his head and threw the apple in his hand in the air as he thought on it. He shrugged his shoulders finally and took a bite out of his apple.

"A few. Some were humans." He added.

Effie's eyes widened and she spun round to face him and stared. "With a human? Are you serious Carl? Honestly..." She murmured and turned back to the fans.

Carl laughed and took another bite. "What?"

She turned back to him and gave him a look. "You know what I mean. For goodness sake, Carl what sort of relationship do you think can come from being with a human. They'll age and then there's the problem with the thirst. It would break both your hearts."

"It was before I was turned." He replied solemnly.

She almost dropped the fan she was looking at. "Oh. I'm sorry." She stuttered.

Neither of them had talked about when they were turned. Even on that night when they had become closer to each other than they ever had done with another person. They had become brother and sister. Comrades. Companions. However they never felt like that had to and it wasn't exactly Effie's favourite topic of conversation. She hadn't exactly been able to talk about her real feelings since Ivan which had been for a few months and even then her conversational skills weren't exactly up to scratch and the current position hadn't gotten any better. So she wouldn't exactly be at her best in terms of verbalising her feelings on the subject. She still missed her family. After sixty years most would accept it. She accepted the death of human life but not of theirs. She would rather she had been turned with sacrificing their own lives. She knew that Carl would have similar feelings on the topic. She didn't know the circumstances of his turning into a vampire but she was sure that it brought some pain onto him as it did onto her. For humans it would be a tragedy and the very event which would define their existence. For vampires it was something that happened, a rebirth. It came and went and that was the end of that. It was something you accepted and you moved on but that wasn't to say that it was a particularly pleasant experience. For Effie it was when all the walls came crashing down on her life but those were the walls which were imprisoning her.

"That's alright. His parents found out about it and sent him to an institute to help him with the problem. They didn't find out it was me and really it was the last straw. You know? When I left my family?" She nodded.

He folded his arms and observed her expression and body language. "You know you never talk about your family. This is something I've noticed. You seem to shy away from the whole subject. What is it?"

She frowned. "What do you mean 'what is it'?"

He sighed. "I mean why are you so...avoid-ant of the whole topic."

"I just don't like talking about it Carl. It brings me a lot of pain talking about them. I might be able to talk about them one day but...it's been sixty years. That's like a year for vampires."

He gave her a look. "Three years."

She glanced at him and moved onto another stall. She tried not to look at him so he wouldn't press her too much further on the topic but this wasn't going to happen.

"You must need to talk to someone about it."

She sighed and almost shouted at him. "Look Carl, I just don't want to talk about it. One day. One day I will be ready to discuss it but not yet."

She turned to Carl who had stopped talking and just stared at her in horror and was frowning at her with concern. He knew that something was wrong. He didn't know what at first but the closer she looked into her eyes the more he could see the fear which was growing inside her. To some extent he understood why she didn't want to talk about but at the same time he knew how important it was for her to discuss this. In that moment she suddenly felt like a monster. A disgusting monster which was to disgusted at and banished from anyone's company. She should never have presumed that she could be anyone's companion let alone Carl's. She was never going to be able to completely satisfy his needs not that she wanted to. But she meant more in the way that they would be able to live with one another without one of their lives ruining the others. He deserved better. This was what happened when anyone stepped out from loneliness into companionship. You were suddenly obligated to vocalise your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Of course it was was so that you got closer to the other person but this was something which she wasn't ready for. It had only been a few months and they were closer than ever they just didn't discuss each others past. Then again they had talked about almost everything about themselves that they had finally arrived at the point when there was nothing else to talk about.

He then began to stride it almost looked like he was going to walk away from her but instead pulled her into an embrace. She couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged her. Perhaps it was when she welcomed her father home all those years ago. Yes. It was her father. What a sad life she lived when it had been that long. Or perhaps the last person who probably hugged her was the one who turned her. She never embraced her victims. She was afraid of such intimacy. They might sway her away from what she needed to do. From what she knew was necessary. This was an embrace which she had long waited for but she didn't realise it. It didn't need to be a hug from someone she romantically loved. It just needed to be from someone she cared about and cared about in return. She never what this hug meant. It meant that he knew her pain. He knew of the loneliness that it caused. He knew that this was their only hope now and that for as long as they both lived they would make sure that neither of them would be lonely again. Physically or mentally. They would always be ready for the time when they would finally tell each other. They would sit there, hold their hand, listen and then comfort them in the time when the tears would inevitably follow. She took this promise she took this knowing that this was all she had left to hope for. This was all she could hope for.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Seven

_1863_

For **Isle of Capri**

"_You must drink."_

_The voice had come back. She thought that she was dreaming but it was now beckoning her out of those sweet dreams which could have distracted her for a little while longer from the bloody reality she was being faced with. Why couldn't it have been a little more merciful? She knew that voice. It was haunting and seductive. She remembered everything now. The blood, the death, the offer, the promise. She couldn't remember what it was she promised to again. Or did he promise her something? She couldn't remember which way round it was. It didn't matter. Promising something to the Devil was bad enough whether he was promising you something or if you had to do something for him. She was already damned for what she was. For these few moments, Effie thought that this was really all a dream. She really hoped that this was all a bad dream. That none of those suspicions that she had over the years were nothing but her imagination. One where she would wake up and return to her grey, bland lifestyle. But when she saw the beautiful face leering over hers with blood on his face. Her blood dripping down his chin she knew it was far from it. She remembered everything. It was a living nightmare. He dung his fangs into his arm and held the open wound over her mouth. _

"_You have to drink if you want to live."_

_She should've been repulsed by this but in that moment something overcome her which was more powerful than what her morality was telling her to do and just lie there and wait for her death. She could smell the blood and taste it in her mouth before she even began to drink. From what she was lectured at the pulpit she knew that she should've taken a different course of action. What her world had told her confirmed that she made the wrong decision. But she was no longer part of this world. She now had to go by a different set of rules. Her rules. **Their **rules, whatever they may be. She took a firm grip of his arm and brought the wound to her mouth and drank. She drank so thirstily and greedily that the blood began to stream down her chin, down her neck, down her dress. She had never felt such a hunger, such a desire to live. She wanted to remain in the land of the living, yes. Anyone would but not at such a price. Never in any other moment in her life was she willing to pay such a price in order to live. Or have half a life. When she looked at the dead eyes of her family she knew she didn't want to meet that same fate. Not yet. She wanted to devour his entire body but felt him prize her teeth away from his arm. Everything went blurry after this. Her world was in chaos. Her reality had become something else to what she once believed it to be and there would be no going back. _

_She felt his hot breathe on her cheek before he spoke for one last time. "You're like me now. Just remember this: I gave you this gift. It has no burdens unless you don't just give yourself into it. There is no other way of living than out of necessity. Forget the myths the humans made about us. Remember this. Remember this day."_

_Then he was gone. She thought that would be last she would see of him. She thought that like a neglectful parent or like many of the illegitimate children whose fathers identities were unknown would abandon her for as long as she would...Well she couldn't say live. For as long as she would remain. She just had no idea of how much he would be to her. Just not at that moment. It was something she would gradually realise over the next few decades until she would see him again. He had vanished as swiftly as the wind. It was if he was the devil and has returned to his dwelling place in the world below now that he had committed the deed. Now that he had captured and eaten his winnings he was done with it. She laid there for a moment in her bloodshed bed. She took in the intoxicating smell of blood which was once repulsive and was now alluring. She felt a creeping comforting in lying amongst the dead. She waited for the moment where it was time for her to begin her new life. For her to get to her feet and take her first step. She reached out to it, brushing her fingers against the bright light. She turned to the window and saw that the sun was about to set. Now there was just a line of light on the horizon. A beautiful, shining line like a thread of gold. She decided it would be best to wait until that line disappeared into the darkness. Now that she was a child of the night. _

~ (***) ~

Florence was pretty. It reminded her of the lavender shades of summer evenings or spring mornings back in her life as a human. She would sit outside and do some sewing as she enjoyed the warm summer breeze in the evening. It was nothing like Rome but Effie wasn't about to deny its beauty. It had a dark, seductive beauty opposed to Rome's glittering magnificence. It reminded her of the alluring, moving lines from Paradise Lost. It was no better nor was it worse than Rome. They were both wonderful places but for different reasons. She could appreciate how different corners of the world could be so beautiful yet so the train arrived at the station she took Carl's hand and gripped it tightly. She needed strength now. She knew that he was the only one who could be there for her. He was the only one who ever was there for her, that was because he was the only one who could. No one else could understand her emotions as much as he did. They were like twins which had been separated at birth. It pained her that she had never had him until this point to be there for her in the time when she could've really needed him. She didn't know why but she felt this pull towards this place. It wasn't just like that comforting feelings of coming home but also it was painful. Like she wanted to pull herself away. It felt like a rope had been wrapped around her heart and had been pulled so strongly, so intensely towards this one place on the earth's surface.

"Are you nervous?" He whispered in her ear. She smiled tightly and shook her head.

"No. Just...It's different."

He looked at her suspiciously. "You know something, Effie. You...are a terrible liar. Now tell me, since we've clarified that you are nervous. Why are you nervous?"

She shook his hand childishly. "Because it's different." She pressed. "Who knows what we could encounter here." She replied glancing out the window again.

"My, my." He pondered. "A vampire scared of the world, rather than the world being scared of vampires. What a paradox that is."

She hit him playfully and in return he mockingly cried out in pain. "OW! OH CONDUCTOR! CONDUCTOR! THIS WOMAN IS- Ow! Alright! Alright! Please! Mercy!" He laughed.

She leaned forward and whispered haughtily in his ear. "Then don't be rude." Making him laugh even more.

"I wouldn't have thought you a lady." He teased.

"Really? What then?" She questioned, gazing out the window. She was beginning to lose interest in Carl's squabbling.

"Well, you do tend to dress up as man." He pointed. "I'm starting to think that you would prefer to be a man."

"Oh really?" He nodded. "Maybe we should switch roles." She offered, he threw back his head and roared with laughter which earned them a few looks from other passengers.

"I really do love you, darling." She patted his hand.

"As do I." She returned dryly. "On the odd occasion."

"You are a cruel mistress." He chuckled. "I hate to think of who might become the lucky man to steal your heart. Or lucky woman." He added considerably. "You never know you might turn out to bat for my team."

"Or both." She retorted.

"Ha. Ha. Well, that life isn't for me. I know what I want." He announced proudly as he got to his feet.

As Carl got their luggage Effie began to ponder on his last comment. What did he mean by that. She knew it wasn't about how he was going to be living his life sexually, she knew that for sure. Out of all the people she had met, vampire and human alike she knew that Carl was the one person who knew himself better than anyone she had ever met. Did she really know what she wanted out of life? She had never really been certain of what she wanted. She had only known what was necessary. Yes, she had accepted her life as a vampire. That really her thirst for blood was only natural to her now and that having to kill these people was just a necessity. It was part of who she was and she had to accept that otherwise she would be a danger to herself and thousands of others. The sooner she accepted it the sooner she could pace herself. She didn't have to kill every night but just on a regular basis to stop herself from descending into madness. But she had been wrestling with the idea of living like a...human. That was madness. Without drinking their blood. That was worse. It was almost going against nature. But she had seen Carl do the so, almost. Why couldn't she do the same? Maybe she could have that peaceful life she always wanted. Maybe that dream could become a reality.

She turned to Carl as they walked down the platform. They hadn't spoken since they had been on the train. Carl knew that from time to time Effie needed a while to collect her thoughts. To think on what she knew was vital to deal with at the present time.

"Carl. Do you really think...that we can live as humans?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"A mean without killing. That we can still go on living forever but that would be it. That would be the only thing to it. Do you really think we can do that?"

Carl sighed and looked into her stern eyes but there was something else there. A spark of something else. Hope perhaps? "It depends on why you are asking this."

"Because I've been considering that maybe I might want to try living that life. To be free but without being damned. Without losing myself." She was on the brink of bursting into sobs but she tried to control herself. "With every day that passes, every hour, every minute, every second. I'm losing myself. Until the day where I can only identify myself as a vampire. That is it. That is my identity summed up in one word. One word which I don't really want. I want something else. I'm not sure what though but I want to find it before I'm condemned to just being a vampire."

Carl took her by the shoulders. "I know. I know how that feels and that's good. That's what's natural. Don't worry. I'll help you. We'll get through it together."

She smiled sadly. "You promise?"

He nodded. "I do."

He enveloped her into a comforting embrace which made her feel...warm. She frowned and gripped onto him almost to the extent of digging her nails into his back. She wanted to hold onto this moment where the impossible seemed to be achieved. It made been on the day when she was dragged into this life but then again that was just proving to her that everything that she accepted was all wrong. She was really being introduced to the new realm of true logic. This moment was actually defying all of that. She wanted to show the universe that she was tired of playing by its rules. She knew there needed to be darkness in order for light but those who had to play the part of the dark ones had to sacrifice themselves for those who would enter the light she would never be able to see. She would have to dwell in the darkness for all eternity. She wasn't going to be carry out this role for any longer. She couldn't. She didn't mean to try and hurt him but she was so desperate. For so many decades she had been cold and now finally she felt some sense of hope. She no longer had to be the wanderer but the settler. She could still have that mountain-lakeside dream. It no longer had to be a fantasy. She could have some purpose in her life rather than seemingly being a ghost.

"Don't worry. We can be happy." He whispered. "Not together." He added, making her laugh. "But we can be happy, like everyone else."

"We're not like everyone else."

He drew back and looked at her in earnest. "No, but we can be ourselves. Can't we? Isn't that a thousand times better?"

She nodded. "It is. It is."


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Eight

For **Page's Creation**

It had been a while since she had thought about the day her family was murdered. It was something she understandably didn't want to think about on most occasions. It was more something she just wanted to put behind her and move on rather than psychoanalysing every single detail of the event. Sometimes it was easier than she thought to put it to the back of her mind. She was grateful for this, it was better to not be haunted by ones past. Some people couldn't help but for the ghosts of the past to come and haunt them but this wasn't to say that she had her own ghosts come to haunt her on some occasions. She tried not to linger on such thoughts. That was what stopped them from coming so often. It made you waste away. It was better to go forwards other than looking back. She was already technically dead she didn't need to make it worse. There was nothing worse than being dead and having so many regrets when there was nothing you could do about it. She speculated that this may have been a result of her abstaining from the blood she continuously drank on a weekly basis. It was better for the past to remain in the past. She needed to start to look to the future. If it wasn't going to be brightly lit in the sun without her feeling some pain then she better make it as bearable as she could. The only thing she couldn't forget was his face.

That image that loomed over her face with lingered within the last moments of her human life would always haunt her. The angel-monster which took her life and her soul. That face which was so beautiful, which seemed so distorted when she first laid eyes on it. But every time she thought on it the face became more clearer. His eyes were the darkest, brightest, clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. His skin was so white, so smooth it reminded her of ivory silk. His hair was so dark, almost black but with auburn tints. The face would remain to linger in her mind forever. It was as if he had become a part of her now. He was her monstrous side. /Every time she looked into the mirror she sometimes saw him. In the background she saw the dead bodies of her family, he would lick their blood off his fingers with a malicious grin on his face. His blood-painted face starting back at her, tormenting and taunting her. Telling her that he was right. She desired and loved being a vampire. She loved being a monster and that she was going to fail in her endeavours in attempting to being an immortal human. She would sometimes wake up, screaming, ranting the name of the nameless demon. It would take Carl hours it seemed to calm her nerve, not knowing what it was she was shrieking at. He had no idea of the depth of her troubles. She dreaded him ever knowing sooner than when she would tell him willingly. It was her tale to tell and no one else's.

"Are you feeling better?" Carl asked as he marched through the doorway.

She sighed and continued to brush her hair. She knew if she continued to have this conversation she was going to be breaking one of her prime rules. If she talked about it any further she might as well be inviting those ghosts of hers to come in for tea. What made it bad enough was that she had another nightmare the night before. It wasn't of her family though. That was the strange yet unsettling thing about it. It wasn't of the event but only of him. It was a strange dream. She saw him in the corridor beckoning her to him. It was dark with only candles lighting the way. The walls were made of stone so it was a dwelling place beneath the ground. He held out her hand to her. His face was clean of any blood. It was like a premonition. It was like he was calling out to her. Her fallen angel. Another thing was that she was more than willing to obey him. She wanted to run towards him. She wished that her legs could carry her faster down that corridor. She felt her pulse thudding so hard even though she hadn't heard her own heartbeat in decades. How could such a thing be possible?

"Yes." She replied. "It was just a dream."

Carl looked unconvinced. He looked out the door before closing it and rubbed his eyes. He slowly walked towards her and sat beside her at her dresser.

"Effie. I think it is time to tell me of that time."

Her blood went cold. She never told anyone about what happened when she was turned. Then again she never had a companion like Carl. The only other vampire she had met was Ivan and he never even saw him that often yet she trusted him with her life or whatever she could call her existence. Ivan was like a father to her. She could trust but she wasn't sure whether she could really confide her deepest, darkest secrets to him. Not this one anyway. Her entire body shivered at the prospect of telling anyone this. They were always cold, of course, but her veins were colder than they had ever been. Than any human could ever imagined. Then again a human could never have fathomed such a life, such a beginning to such a life. She knew what he meant by 'that time'. Every vampire had 'that time' which sounded like something you would regret when it was merely your birth into this abominable existence. Most vampires loved it when they seemed to hate recalling the day when they became what they now were. That moment when she moved from a mortal to an immortal state. That unnatural moment which broke the laws of nature. She had dreaded this moment but it was inevitable. She didn't want it to come but she knew it was necessary. She slowly turned her eyes to him fearful, wondering what would become of her after she had spoken those forbidden words.

"I would like to say that...it is not a time I like to think of too often. It used to haunt me. Nearly all the time but after giving up the blood its hold on me has begun to fade away. Now only the one responsible remains in my mind and soul."

"The one who turned you?" He asked in a concerned voice. "Well of course, they always remain with you, dear. They always do. They are...our parents in a way. They made us. They are our guides."

She scoffed. "He was never my guide. He turned me then walked out the door I have never seen him since except in my dreams. My mother died giving birth to my younger sister so I was the 'mother' of the family. The day that it happened...I would be lying if I said that it was a normal day. There was a sense of a evil presence lingering. When they came home from work, my father and my brothers we had dinner and it was beginning to get dark. I just went out to get some candles and the next thing I knew I heard a scream. I rushed to the room and found them dead. Then the vampire appeared after I begged to offer my own life for my sisters. He instead offered me eternal life. It was somewhat against my will but deep down I desired it rather than to live or die. I am still living but I am also dead so I suppose its the only option I could take. Then he left. Gone without a trace."

"I'm so sorry." Carl replied silently. He gripped Effie's hand tightly. "I lost my family years ago when they all died of disease or old age. But I never had to witness their deaths let alone such a terrible one. I can't imagine what you've been through."

She shook her head. "No. I don't think any mind could fathom it. No matter how far the imagination could stretch." She agreed. "I don't think even I could believe it despite it being there right before me. I didn't even bother to clean up the mess. I buried the bodies and cleaned the house that night. They deserved a burial after I left it clean and in a way I was cleansing myself of anything that was remotely human. It was my way of accepting my new life."

"I guess that was the only way." Carl replied, patting her hand.

"I also blame myself. I knew it was coming. Like I said it wasn't like any other day. My contempt for my wasteful, dull life was heightened and knew something was approaching. Something dark and foreboding and I warned no one. It was my job."

Carl shook his head. "None of this is your fault. It's only the fault of...What was his name?"

She shook her head sadly. "I never knew his name. He never told me. He only told me to remember the gift he bestowed upon me. The gift being the freedoms of eternal life."

"Some freedoms they are." Carl mumbled. "Do you miss them? Your family."

She stared at him for a moment in disbelief. "Of course I do. I miss them everyday. Every moment. Sometimes I wish they were here with me. I wish that none of this had happened but at the same time I know that the thought of us living together in eternal peace is a lot more...attractive. There is some more possibility in an eternal life rather than a monotonous, bland existence. I can't lie about that."

"I don't expect you to." Carl chuckled nervously. "You did well."

She turned to him and looked into his eyes. They were honest. They were always honest. Anything that came out of Carl's mouth was honest.

"Did I? I never really thought about what was right or wrong but what was necessary. Drinking blood to sustain my sanity. Killing was a part of my nature. Everything was so absolute when the funny thing is our very existence...there's nothing remotely absolute about it."

"Maybe. All we have to do is just live our lives as we wish though. We don't have to determine how we lead it by what is expected of a vampire. The point of being one is living freely therefore, we can do what we wish."

She nodded. "I'm glad I told you. I've been holding this deep inside me for so long. I've been alone in my misery for so long. I've never really thought...I never thought I could really open myself up to anyone." A tear rolled down her cheek which she brushed away roughly. "Sorry."

"It's alright. You've done something...really brave actually. If I had that on my shoulders I don't think I would've even said a hello to you. I would be so closed off from everyone I don't think I would be able to...You're stronger than I am, Effie. Hold onto that."

"I'll try." She replied weakly and kissed him. "So...I'll wait for you to be strong enough, alright?"

He sighed and looked down at the ground. "Effie. My suffering isn't anywhere near yours. I was simply pulled to one side into an alley by a vampire who turned me as he found out...what sort of people I went for, sexually speaking. He was my first lover...as a vampire."

She shifted slightly so that she was facing him. "Really? What was his name?"

"His name was Fredrick. He wasn't in the least bit handsome. He was rather ugly actually but..."

She eyed him slightly. "What?"

"I don't know whether I should tell you." He teased and she pushed him.

"I used to drag prostitutes into dark alleys dressed as a man and drain their blood. I think I can handle it."

He smiled. "He was very good...in bed. That was the only redeeming quality he had. He had terrible manners, rude, inconsiderate except in bed. Other than that...he was just horrible."

"How did you leave him?" She asked curiously.

"He took another." He replied curtly. She rubbed his back to comfort him. "Oh don't worry. I was glad to be rid of him. I had learnt enough of the vampire ways from him now I had an excuse to leave him. I was relieved rather than anything. In fact I pitied the poor boy he picked up."

She threw back her head and laughed. She had been told Carl's experiences with other men before but never had she laughed so hard. Some were rather amusing and other she found herself yearning for her own love affair after she had finished. Better to have loved than never love at all. Or something like that. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed. She laughed all the time with Carl but not this much. Perhaps it gave her some comfort she wasn't the only one who suffering. It was easier to laugh at the hard times rather than the good ones. It was because you knew they had passed and it was out of amazement that you were able to drag yourself out of them in one piece. Maybe she was comforted by the fact that Carl hadn't suffered that much. He had become so dear to her, she wasn't in love with him, it would be ridiculous to fall in love with him since he was a homosexual. The love she felt for him was one a sister had for her brother. One that she would have for a friend. She cared for him as a mother would love her son. She tilted her head to try read his features. He must have been thinking about his past lover. She could tell there was some regret and mourning he was feeling for that relationship but she knew he had allowed it to pass. She was happy that he was able to let that go.

"So. Are you going to go out today or not?" She questioned.

He widened his eyes and slapped his hand on the seat. "Of course we are. You're not backing out are you?" He questioned throwing an accusative finger at her.

She shook her head. "You can pick out my dress if you wish."

"Absolutely. It's about time I did." He purred as he made his way to her wardrobe. "I feel like lavender today."


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Nine

For **MaxRideRox**

It was only three weeks after this day when she saw him again. She thought that if she didn't talk about him she would never see him again, it looked like she was right. She was so shocked by seeing him at first she thought it was the trick of the light. But no he was very real as much as she knew that this was far from being a dream. She was surprised that Carl hadn't noticed him but then again he didn't know who he was. After about sixty years she had finally encountered him once again. She never thought that they day would come but it seemed that he decided to appear to her. She knew the day was inevitable but she tried to not think about that day so much she almost convinced herself that it would never happen. Or was it fate which brought them together? It was a mere glimpse, not a collision between two souls. Then again they were soulless beings. How could she call themselves lost souls? They were monsters. She was at least trying to fight the monster from within, she knew within a mere glimpse that he had not changed in the slightest since she had last seen him. He was still the beautiful devil he had been since the day her world and existence was transformed into something she wrote down as fiction. She never feared the darkness and that didn't change after her being turned into a vampire. She was now the darkness. Thanks to him, she grew closer to the darkness when before she merely ignored it.

He walked so proudly in the sunlight, as if he were a human being with nothing to hide, as if he had done nothing wrong to any member of humanity. It just made her feel sick watching him as he strode along with that expression on his face where he didn't have a care in the world while everyone he turned into a monster had to suffer with their condition. It was disgusting. It was despicable. All of this was probably true, despite his last words to her were to detach herself from such an identity, that there was no way of her ever being human ever again. He probably never thought he would ever be caught in the act of not practising what he preached. So oblivious to the one who was watching him that she hated him more intensely than she ever had done. She wanted to run across and rip out his throat and drink his blood dry. She wanted to scratch out his eyes until he screamed more diabolically than any being which could be conceived in Hell. She hated and loved him. She wanted to devour his soul but she wanted to cherish it at the same time. She couldn't take her eyes off him but she wanted to rip her eyes away and never look upon him again. She despaired in the conflict of her emotions that she wanted to rip her hair out and scream to the heavens.

Carl looked down at her and tugged at her sleeve but she made no response. All he could see her doing was mindlessly staring across the street as if she was staring into death's door itself. He had heard of such rumours that in fact there was a door but not for them. They had a different kind of death. A death which he didn't really want to think about. He had seen a vampire die and saw it vanish into thin air. He liked to think that perhaps they became a part of air, sky and water, in a way they were making up for all the deaths they had inflicted on life and were going to help life continue for all eternity. That would be their punishment but also their release from this terrible life as well. But only if that were true. He wouldn't be surprised if he discovered that really they just disappeared and ceased to exist altogether. That would make more sense all things considered. He looked across in the direction to where she was staring at couldn't see what was the problem was at first. He narrowed his eyes at her and saw that they were slowly moving in a continuous line, so she must've been looking at someone not something. He looked up again to see if he could find who it was and still the busy crowds made it difficult for him to see. Then he caught sight of the gentleman. He was quite beautiful. His hair was a very rich colour. His eyes were the coldest, prettiest eyes he had ever seen.

"Who is that?" He asked her.

Effie looked up distractedly but still never kept her eyes off the man. "The one who made me." She finally murmured.

Carl gulped and tried to pull her away. "Come on. We're going to get out of Florence."

"Why?" She asked in a desperate voice. He gave her a shocked look and continued to walk hurriedly.

"You know perfectly well why we are leaving. We can't stay here with him being here."

"Maybe there's a reason why he's here. Why I'm here. Maybe we were supposed to meet again." She offered hopefully.

"Or maybe he's following us. Look Effie its no coincidence that he's here. I'm sure he's after you again and for reasons I don't want to find out."

"What if he lives here? It's a big city, vampires are known to live in big cities if they're going to settle somewhere." She laughed.

He glared at her and leaned forward so much he was almost pressing his face against hers. "Listen. I know more about the vampire world than you do. I've been in it longer than you have and I know that this isn't something that isn't intentional."

"How do you know? What sort of motives do you think he would have for trying to find me?' She questioned. 'There's something you're not telling me."

"Effie." He reasoned. "The bond between one who turned another is stronger than most bonds. That's why you continue to have dreams about him. It's because you're both still connected. For you its like being brother and sister, father and daughter, mother and son, husband and wife all at once. It is such an overwhelming feeling you can't even comprehend it until you're with them and you are lucky in some respects for him walking out on you."

She shook her head. "That still doesn't explain why he would wish to cause me any harm."

"He may want to manipulate you into doing something."

"Like what?" She demanded.

"I can't imagine what. Something horrible and I care about you too much to want you to be drawn into it-"

His eyes widened and she looked behind her to find that the vampire was standing behind her. He stared down her with an emotion she couldn't quite determine. It looked like he had been waiting for her for some time, that it wasn't her that was doing the waiting. She thought at first that it may be anger. His eyes seemed to be burning with white hot fire. Maybe he wished that they be parted for all eternity and never to meet again. Maybe he thought that she was following him that she was going to carry out her revenge upon him. Maybe. But then when the thought occurred to her right at that moment it made her fill that overwhelming sensation of dread which made you want to vomit. Maybe that may have been his intention all along. After a second examination he might have been curious. There seem to be a faint sign of a frown on his brow. She knew afterwards it would not leave the creases that it would do on a human's forehead who frowned too much. Maybe he was as bewildered at seeing her again as she was. Maybe he thought that she wasn't cut out to be a vampire and would eventually be caught by someone hunting them all down and would have killed her. Or perhaps he was heartbroken. However the last possibility seemed more confusing than the other two. How could she, a being which he only spent a few intimate moments with cause him to be heartbroken?

"Effie." Carl said in a shaken voice. He took her wrist and tried to pull her away. "Effie come."

However his pull was like a child trying to pull a brick out of a stone wall. The Vampire wrapped a protective arm around her which was so strong a thousand men couldn't pull her away from him. She felt like a tree being twisted around another, forever entwined within each others grasp.

"Now, now Underling." Said the Vampire. "I don't think it is your place to come between a maker and its child. After such a long awaited reunion as well."

He stroked her face and brushed his fingers through her hair. He cast his icy blue eyes down to her menacing, dark eyes which sent a shiver of fear and desire through his body.

"How have you been my dear?" He whispered. "Have you been good?"

She nodded. "I have been good. As much as I could be capable of."

"She has even tried to amounting to more than you ever could!" Carl cried out suddenly, making the vampire turn away from Effie to Carl. His eyes blazing with white fire.

"You be careful of how you speak to me." He hissed. "I am much higher to what you could ever be and her."

He turned back to Effie and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Such a beautiful creature. I suppose it is because it is I who made you." He mused chuckling to himself. "Because I chose you I knew that you were beautiful enough to be of our kind."

She opened her mouth to say something but he shushed her as a father would to his newborn daughter. "Say nothing my love. For now, say nothing because there is no necessity."

She frowned at him wondering what she meant. She wanted to curse him. Scream at him. She wanted to point him out to anyone how would prosecute him for what he had done and make him suffer. Yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't even bring herself to speak a single word. It was almost as if she had taken complete control over her body. She could sense him inside her soul as if they had become one. She looked at him, directly into his eyes and they both knew. They knew now after all this time they had been separated that they were never going to be able to leave one another ever again. Effie closed her eyes burying her face into his coat and allowed him to stroke her hair which sent shivers down her spine. She felt like she was in her fathers arms once again when she was a child after she had a bad nightmare. Then again she felt like she was being comforted by a long-awaited lover at a train station. She was repulsed, she felt desire and she felt anger all at once. She dug her nails into his back and clung to him with greater desperation than a maddened woman or a despairing child. She wanted to remain in that embrace until they were both dead.

"I hate you." She murmured. "I hope you know that I hate you more than I have hated any other being."

The Vampire sighed and nodded. "I know. But you love me too don't you? You do love me?"

He waited for her reply which almost felt like an eternity. She never thought she would able to speak again but eventually she was able to find the will to speak again.

"Yes."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Ten

For **Isle of Capri**

She never saw Carl again for a while after that. That was the one thing that pained her about her relationship with Alexis. That was the only thing which she had to give up in order to be with him which she regarded as a sacrifice. Carl was a brother to her. In fact it was the only pain she had in going with him. It would not be for many decades after until she would see Carl again. She never knew that though. She never knew she would never see the man who had become her beloved brother for many decades after that. She couldn't have both of them, that was the thing. You couldn't have your brother living with your lover. It was too much of a compromise for the both of them. For days on end after her reunion with her maker she seemed to sleep and sleep and sleep without stopping. She just wanted quiet. She wanted that eternal rest which he deprived her of. Perhaps now that she was with him again...Maybe he was her eternal rest. It was as if she had been on a long journey without food or sleep for many years and once she had arrived at where she was travelling to she was too tired to appreciate the place she had been dreaming of visiting for some time. She never thought she could be this tired. She was dead. She was never supposed to be tired. Only the restful were able to sleep. She was the constant walking dead, it went against her nature. Was is being she had been abstaining from drinking for so long? Perhaps it was never meant to be.

Maybe it was only meant for Carl and a few select individuals but not her. Someone people had the will power to go without the blood. It took the strong ones. The ones who were good at pretend to be human. But not her. Being human was never meant for her. She didn't really enjoy it the one time round she had at trying to be human. She was always supposed to be a monster. She was a monster before she was even turned into one. She wanted to walk out on her family and abandon all responsibilities her mother and father had thrown on her. There was always an underlying hatred she had for them. Why did she have to have all these responsibilities? Alexis didn't seem to mind. He seemed more concerned about her resting rather than anything else. All she wanted was to live a life of freedom and peace and that hilltop she always pursued. The only reason why she wanted that was so she could have select company who would walk that distant to see her. She wanted to be able to read the mysteries of the universe between the pages of those duty, forbidden books which were now free for her to survey. She could do that here. She could be that person in this beautiful city without hiding into the countryside. Despite the fact that it could be very beautiful there are many different ways of one being surrounded by beauty.

"Darling." The whispering voice beckoned back to the realm of the living.

At first she thought it was Carl and again that this was all a dream. That she was back in Florence in the hotel room and that they were going to go see some show or art exhibition or something cultural like that. It would be such a wonderful dream for a change. It would be nice if something like this actually turned out to be a dream _for a change. _It happened to humans all the time. They had this unbelievably realistic, bizarre dream which turned out not be not quite as great in the end as it was in the beginning. It would be nice, just a day, if she could feel human, just to see what it was like being human again. She desired to be spared for one night to have such a merciful, beautiful dream. One which didn't involve blood or to be confronted with your family's murderer, who, deep down after all this time was someone whom you actually loved all along. She hated it but she had to admit to that one secret she kept inside her eventually. She wanted to meet him again in such perfect peace in her dreams but never in reality. Violent feelings were met with violent ends. Or something along those lines. She never knew what sort of end it could lead to. She didn't want to imagine the consequences he would bring if he entered into her life again. Yet she wanted to see him again. She wanted to know if the touch of his face really felt so smooth. She wanted to see if he could really be so gentle and so brutal.

"Love." She felt a cold hand brush against her face. "My love, come. Wake up."

When she saw the face that loomed over hers she knew that it wasn't Carl's. She narrowed her eyes at the figure in case it was Carl. She would expect him to frighten her by looming over her like this. He liked to tease her like that, referring to their relationship as being more like a brother-sister connection was reasonably accurate. It was just like having an older brother. But it wasn't Carl. She knew that when she looked closely. There was no mistaking it, she could never forget that face. It was his. She tilted her head slightly with a small smile on her face which was barely visible but it was still there. He was still familiar. She could remember his face very clearly, even though it was shrouded in darkness now as it was when they first met she was still able to make out his features. They frightened her as well as made her cold, marble skin feel like it was on fire. It was the same feeling which made Cathy want to run out onto the moors with her dark gypsy lover without a care in the world. It was the reason why she could dream of nothing but him. She wasn't just talking about Cathy now but also herself. It was the reason why she always returned back to that day. It was for the selfish reason she never wanted to admit to. It wasn't the departure between herself and her family but the one between herself and her murderer. How terrible and damnable was that to fall in love with your murderer?

She reached out to touch his face timidly which made her seem even more fragile, adorable and child-like to him. Somewhat of a bizarre concept if she was about to become his lover or wife or whatever he wanted them to be, but she knew it was going to go in that general direction. Maybe that was the reason why he chose her. He could remember from watching her from afar that there was someone fragile and delicate under that rough, strong exterior and the only way to reach out to it was to break it apart like a china tea cup. She would watch the horizon pretending the real reason was because she waiting for her brothers and her father to return but the real reason was because it was satisfy that sense of longing. He could see in those dark eyes of hers that all she wanted was an escape. She wanted to be able to discard that guilt because it was eating her up inside. That was the only way you were going to be able to reveal the true nature of someone's being. You had to rip apart all those other aspects of their life which was confining who they really were and wanted to be and let it run free. However he didn't see this as a justification for the pain that he had brought her either. He could see the hurt in her eyes still looming there, even after all those decades, she still held onto that pain.

"What is your name?" She croaked. She failed to find her voice. She was so hungry, so thirsty. He could tell.

"My name...Why do you want to know my name?" He chuckled. "What importance is there in a name?"

Effie looked at him and saw the real reason why he chose her was not because he desired her but because they were both suffering from the same affliction. Why didn't she see this before? As soon as she became a vampire she drank his blood, surely she would have been able to see this since she was effectively looking into his soul. He was lonely and he was longing for something more from his life. What sort of life did this man, this vampire have? He could have and do anything he wanted. He was immortal. He was invincible. Almost. There was still the possibility of him meeting the true death one day but still... He didn't have to worry about having a purpose. She herself struggled with this concept but that was only because she was once a product of the human condition. All humans wanted a purpose and it was a desire that was difficult to let go of even when after you died. She looked at him and saw that he didn't even know what he wanted. He didn't even know who he was. Everything could be known about a person or a being in their name. Whether they had a name. Whether their parents loved them enough to give them a name which could signify their love for them. Sometimes it could even map out that persons future by simply giving them their name.

"Everything." She replied. "Everything is important in a name."

He tilted his head to the side, the brightness in his smile had sobered. "Very well. Tell me then your name and why it is so important."

"Effie." She whispered. "My name is Effie Blackwood. My mother used to tell me that they named me Effie because of its meaning. It meant new speckled one."

"Strange." He mused. "Some would say it was a nickname for someone named Euphemia. I quite like that name. I'm quite fond of that name."

"Why?"

"It was the name of my mother." He replied. "I think I shall call you that. Of course I shall call you Effie but when I am being especially affectionate. Euphemia. It means to speak well."

"Well I don't speak well." She replied.

"Nonsense. You speak very well. You have a beautiful voice. One of a gypsy, of a mystic, of a wise woman from the ancient times."

She almost laughed. She couldn't believe it. So she was Heathcliff? What a strange result and thought. It wasn't because he was the male protagonist of a famous romantic novel. It was because of his personality. She could have compared them to some other couple in literature but that seemed to be the only one she could think of which seemed appropriate. They were people tied to the darker, wilder sides of nature humans were unaware of. She was the one who hypnotised and seduced the one of higher status. She could see there was a little bit of nobility in his appearance and looks, but he still looked like the beastly, dangerously handsome Heathcliff. She observed him more closely to see if there was anything of a Cathy in him. They were both dark looking, as were Cathy and Heathcliff. Cathy was someone who kidded herself for a while, convinced herself that she could be a suitable wife for a controlled, dull-hearted man with no passion. Although a man who still had a heart and a good nature. She looked at him and shook her head. No. He was no Cathy. He was Heathcliff. She was the one after all who tried to convince herself that she could be human. She tied herself to a good man but betrayed him for her Heathcliff whom she would be forever bound to. She knew that now.

"Very well." She replied sitting up. "What is your name then?"

"Alexis." He replied simply. "It means helper or to defend. Rather ironic in my opinion."

"Really?" She looked at him thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure."

He smiled slyly and laid beside her and rested his head in her lap. "I know you hate me and that you love me. But would you ever betray me? Now that you know my name?"

This question disconcerted her. It disturbed her very soul, if she had one. Was he suggesting that if she merely knew his name that she could control him? Was a name really that important to another person? Then again she was just asserting that a moment ago while he was arguing against it. Maybe he was feigning that so she wouldn't figure it out. He had taken that much from her along which much more. He had taken all her morality as well if she truly loved him. The options she could have was to hate her murderer and love her family or love him and abandon them entirely. She couldn't comprehend betraying the one who made her, who released her from her lowly existence. She was happy in her lowly existence but at the same time she was able to be introduced to another life she could possibly have and who knows? Perhaps this was always supposed to be what her life was leading up to? She cradled his head in her lap as he began to kiss her thighs. She just realised what he was doing and suddenly she was afraid. She was afraid of what was coming next. She didn't want to think about what followed after such things began. She never became old enough for her mother to tell her. Her father never spoke of such things. Carl told her about all his love affairs and didn't spare her the gory details. But he never prepared her for the sensation of feeling on fire. Or aching in places you never thought existed.

"Never." She replied desperately from the electrifying sensations running through her body.

"Never?" He breathed. "You could never love me"

Her eyes widened and shook her head wildly, moaning like a small, premature animal in pain. "No."

"You would never leave me? You would never leave my side? You promise to always be my earthly companion?"

"Yes." She choked. "Always. Always."

He brushed his lips away from her thighs and slide up the bed so that their eyes were facing one another.

"You are such an angel. You are such an angel to promise that to such a monster."

"I am just as much a monster as you." She assured him.

She took much comfort in saying this, as much as it felt like it was tearing up everything inside her as if all her organs were being ripped out of her while she was still conscious. It was always relaxing when you admitted to something that had been on your mind for weeks so just imagine the relief when it had been on your conscience for decades. It assured her that she could have a reason for loving him and rejecting her family completely. It was selfish, unbelievably selfish, there was no way she was going to be able to deny this simple truth however it was even worse for her to deny it as well. It would be like abstaining from drinking blood. She would be making the beast even more hungry and angrier. If she was more human, more stronger perhaps she would be unjustified in loving him. She would have to push him away and leave him forever. She would have to banish any affectionate thought which passed through her mind which concerned him because she would be going against her very nature. What she was now didn't have to completely dominate over who she was and the choices that she made. The most important thing was how she was going to deal with her condition and she was going to give in to it. She was going to offer herself to the beast now. It was over. She had been playing the game for too long. It was time for her to rest and to admit to the truth.

He shook his head. "No. No I have done so much more horrible things than you have. I know that man you were with warned you about me. He was right to but you and I have a bond now and you know that my heart is true when I saw I called for you because I needed you."

"You led me to Florence on purpose?"

"No. No I waited for you. I prayed that you would come. I prayed for my salvation."

"From what?"

"From death. For blood-thirst. I watched you and your companion..."

"He was not my companion. I am the wrong...gender to be his companion." She giggled. Her adorable giggling made him laugh at himself also.

"I watched you both live without drinking and after so many years of futility in killing off humans I have found no purpose or comfort in it. I want you."

She reached out to him. "Is that why you spared me?"

He nodded. "Yes and no. That was not the only reason. I also knew that out of all of them you needed freedom. You looked beyond your limitations and dreamt of those rather than what you were limited to."

"I accepted it." She dismissed.

"No! No you didn't. You let me drink your blood and turn you into what you are now. That is the bravest thing of all. Others say it is braver to die what they don't know it that it is the more merciful option."


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Eleven

For **MaxRideRox**

After he left her in the warm, cold room with white lace hanging from the windows and from around her bed she thought upon the betrayal she had committed. Could it even be seen as a betrayal? Who would it be that she would be betraying? Then she remembered. Her family. She would be lying if she didn't say that she loved him more than ever now, admitting to that was enough to say that she had betrayed her family's memory. She tried not to cry but it was so hard to have to chose between those who had now passed on and someone right in front of her at arms length who would be able to provide her with all those things she had yearned for, for so many years. He would be able to fill that void which had been long empty. This feeling made her feel less human and more monstrous than she ever had done before. But then again did humans feel like this everyday when they were in love. Or at least what they felt was a diluted feeling of what she was experiencing right now. She vowed that she would never betray what was now her heart but she had now betrayed what was once her heart. She saw the ghosts of her past staring back at her, accusing her of her betrayal. She felt that she was being put on trial for a crime which could not even be justified in itself to be a crime.

She hid behind her hands fearfully and begged them to leave her, to return to their world in the afterlife and to allow things to remain as they were, to accept what everything had come to. She had, why couldn't they? She had betrayed those who loved her. The ones who cared for her and were attentive when they could see she was troubled. Yes, Alexis could love her much more than a single person in her family, as Carl said he loved her in more ways than a human being was ever capable of loving a single person. He would provide for all her needs. He would be her beloved father, her devoted son, her loving brother, her passionate husband, her attentive friend. He would be able to encompass all those attentions a single person needs from ten different people. She could wander upon the earth with him and need nothing more. But she couldn't help but feel the stab of guilt. She couldn't help but feel like she was betraying them. She hated herself now more than she hated Alexis. She loved herself more now than she loved Alexis now that she had him to love her unconditionally. True to his word she knew she could feel the remorse for killing her family but not the regret of changing her. She could feel the regret for killing thousands upon thousands of mortal beings but he still greedily wanted her for himself. However, she couldn't deny the guilt which was now consuming her because in the act of her swearing her loyalty she was forgiving him for what he had done to her and her family.

In reality she had really been searching for him. He was the one she had been looking for all this time. He was the only one who was able to give her what she needed. Understanding. Companionship. Devotion. Affection. All those things were something she had been yearning for and she didn't even know it. She knew she was lonely. She knew she needed someone else. She just didn't realise how deeply that need, that desire actually went. She searched endlessly through the cold streets and the dark alleyways for him. She waited in lonely nightclubs and bars for him to appear. She always thought she was looking for the next kill but that wasn't it. It was him. It was him who she was searching for. She always kept a sharp eye upon the crowds of humans to see if he was there hiding from her. He was trying to immerse himself in the crowds so that he could never be seen by everyone but her eyes. Almost like he was teasing her, like he wanted to make her suffer. She wanted to hate him now as well. For taking away her humanity. For making her this abominable creature that she was. It was his fault that she had become this uncontrollable monster, where she couldn't even control her own desire.

She wanted to exact her revenge in the first few years of her being a vampire. She knew that she was powerful enough, thirsty enough to have his blood to be spilled upon the earth. She wanted to love him and kill him at the same time. But as the years passed and the preoccupation of drinking blood consumed her this search for revenge became more futile. It lost its meaning and eventually she came to forgive him. She was finally able to admit that fact, that truth to herself as well as to the memory of her family and to the rest of the world. She forgave him long before that day. She forgave him as much as she had forgiven her sister for taking her mother away. It was in an instant she forgave her sister. The moment she realised what she had become she knew it was necessary to forgive him. As it was when she forgave him she was just feeling guilty for doing that so she hid it with revenge. She always felt the ghosts of her past hovering over her shoulder like a conscience and dissuaded her from forgiving a monster. A devil for taking everything from her. Yet now that she laid there in that room she knew that now was the time to admit that she had forgiven him. She had to forgive him in order to move on with the life which she now had to lead. She had to accept the fact that she and he would remain in the world and they would no longer be in it. She had to see him by another name.

_My Brother. My Father. My Son. My Friend. My Husband. My Love. _

He was no longer going to be seen as the monster which haunted her dreams. He was seen as the angel which watched over her bed with the beautiful face which encompassed all the duties he would carry out as her one true love. He was no longer the devil which had infiltrated her home and devoured her family but the companion who held her hand till the end of days. The one who silently swore his loyalty to her when she did to him. She knew from her heart that he swore that oath with her because unfortunately as she was able to delve into the secrets of his soul he was unable to do the same. He was unable to see how her emotions, thoughts and feelings mirrored those of his own. She mourned that their union was incomplete and knew what it was that had to be done in order to make their souls one. But she was afraid. She was afraid of what would happen to her afterwards. How she would see herself. She wasn't sure she could be strong enough, brave enough. Maybe she was too strong, too brazen to do such a thing. She could see in his eyes it was what she wanted and deep down she knew it was something which she desired more than anything. She desired it more than anything for the past decades and now the day had come where she had to let herself go. She had to submit herself to him in order to be completely whole. So that they could be truly unified souls.

"My Love." She called out in a husky voice.

She waited for her voice to echo across the distant halls to him. She waited patiently for the sound of his quick footsteps to approach her chamber. The next thing she knew he was by her beside.

"Darling." He breathed.

He looked down at her with his full attention on her. She never felt so loved before by one person. It was like receiving her full attention by all those she loved. It was almost too overwhelming.

"I think it is time." She replied.

His reaction was so strange. She never would have thought he would behave like this but then she supposed it just demonstrated the depth of his love for her which was reflected within the depth of her constant obsession with him over the years. It sounded unnatural when she thought about it but when she felt it in her bones she never felt more true to her emotions. He threw back his head and moaned almost like an animal. She had never seen anything like it before, she almost edged back she was so frightened but then became concerned as a mother would for a dying child. He was her Heathcliff now. She thought back at the time when Cathy died and his only way of expressing the depth of his anguish was the beat his head against a tree and howl like a wild beast. Heathcliff was unafraid to show his emotions and neither was he. So was she dead to him now? Was the image that he had of her vanish because of this one act of sacrifice she was willing to make for him. She had never witnessed a being in human form behave in such a way then again it did hide an angel-monster beneath the flesh. He was no human and neither was she. She wasn't used to love of something unhuman. Then again what she was feeling was far from what a mortal could feel either. She was almost frightened, repulsed by him trying to destroy one of his beauties. His outer beauty was that which reflected of Heaven and his inner beauty was that which echoed the rites of Hell.

He grasped his hair in tight fists almost threatening to pull it out of its roots. She wanted to reach out and stop him from taking this wild behaviour of his any further. She wanted to scold him like a mother would to her child for throwing a tantrum. She wanted to join him in his anguish to show him he was not alone. He wanted to tear at his skin knowing by the dismissive look in her eyes which told him she was afraid of the act she was about to commit. She couldn't deny that she was afraid because once it was done there was no turning back. There was no way she would be able to reverse the affects it would make. There would be no way she would be able to be human in any shape or form. He would rather be divided from her throughout the rest of his days rather than make her go through such a trial against her will. She reached out and stroked his arm, shushing him with sweet lullabies and lovers whispers. She did everything she could even taking him in his arms so tightly that she would almost be crushing his bones into dust. She dragged her nails down his back knowing that she would be leaving scars that would remain for days on end. She was readying herself for her task, for the role she was about to play in his life as he did in hers. She would be his mother, his sister, his daughter, his friend and his wife. This was the life she chose to lead and the one she had to remain to lead.

"It's alright, my Love." She murmured. "I'm ready. I'm ready."

His face was soaked with tears and his body drenched with sweat as if he had swam in the sea for a thousand miles.

"I want you to be willing, darling." He whispered. "I already put you through so much pain I don't want you to go through another treacherous trial until you're ready."

"I was ready before and I am ready now."

He shook his head. "You are submitted for my sake. I don't want you to! I want you to do this for your sake!"

"That is selfish!" She growled. "And if you say I do this for my sake then now is the time! It pains me to see you like this! It pains me that we are not truly bound! I must be part of you body and soul otherwise we might as well be..."

Her voice drifted into the decaying twilight. The sun was now falling and allowing the moon to have its time to survey over the earth. It was her time now to be part of him.

"My Love please. Please." She begged. "I ache. I ache in places I thought I never had. I want you to be part of them as I am part of you. I feel absent from my own body. I want you-"

He grabbed her roughly by her hair and glared into her eyes intensely. She was afraid then and he could see it in her eyes so she had to tell him in some way that she was going to be alright. That he needed to be as brave as she was being. They both needed courage now. However desire was able to take over. He looked at her neck, her lips, her breasts, her body and she knew he desired them more than anything. That was the reason why he spared her, so that one day he could have all of this. She knew that whatever her words did they had stirred something within him. Something he had never felt before. She felt his hot fingers stroke her leg roughly making her breathing more deeper, quicker. After this moment had passed all fear, most of her fear had disappeared. Now only apprehension and caution remained. She didn't know what to expect she knew what was going to happen but she had no idea what the consequences would be. How this would change her. For a moment there was silence and stillness until he pressed his lips against hers and then every exploded inside her. She felt her heart had leapt out of her throat down his and thought when she pressed her hand against her chest that both their hearts were now in his. Or his heart was with hers. She couldn't tell. She didn't want to figure it out.

She didn't want to anatomize it. She didn't want to make it as cheaper as a whore being fucked in an alley way. Even using that term towards love-making made it cheap before even referring to where it took place. She didn't want to analyse she just wanted to submit to her bestial side and also be treated with care and tenderness. She wanted both and she got both. She was able to manipulate him because of course that it what a woman can do to a man if she is the fruit of knowledge to him. His weakness. The one thing which could occupy his thoughts for years on end. He on the other hand wanted to treat her kindly but wanted to devour her at the same time. He was intending on doing both of these things but was still unsure about how he was capable of doing both these things. He looked like an angel but deep within he was a monster. So was she. So were all of them. He wanted to be a beast not a saint to anything. Anything but her. He threw her down on the bed and crashed down on her. He ripped apart her nightgown into shreds as he did with his own clothes until they were as bare as Adam and Eve in the beginning. Never taking his lips off hers. Never separating his body from hers. However by the time night had fallen neither of them were as innocent they.


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Twelve

_30 years later..._

_1953_

For **MaxRideRox**

It was beautiful. It was wonderful. It was dark and seductive. It was tragic. It was just like her life only...Without being found out. She had never seen anything like it. As they sat in the audience and watched 'The Crucible' Effie allowed herself to be sucked into the magic of theatre. After their marriage Alexis took her on a whirlwind tour of operas, mesmerizing sites, luxurious hotels but the strange thing is she didn't really care for them. Just as long as she was with Alexis nothing else mattered to her. He knew this. After that night where he had finally been able to be a part of her body and soul she could no longer hide anything from him and she didn't wish to. She never wanted to hide anything from him. She wanted to share every experience with him, she never wanted to be parted from him. Alexis and she decided to organise a meeting America with Ivan and his wife Daisy. They had reconnected ten years ago and completely hit it off with Daisy over the fact that they were both Scottish. For both of them it was quite refreshing to find one another amongst the beautiful and the elegant. They were of the natural world of the tall mountains and vast countryside where there seemed to be no bound. Amongst the vampires who wanted luxury Daisy and Effie's sense of freedom and desires went beyond that.

They were as illimitable as the open sky. They went further than the stars which watched over them, always watching what happened in the nights shadows when they thought no one knew what Hellish deeds they were committing against the very laws of nature. Some vampires weren't as outlandish as Daisy or Effie though and on some occasions they prided themselves on this as well. Those who were turned into vampires tended to be either Greek, like Alexis, British, Italian or French. Very rarely to people encounter a Scottish vampire. Effie thought that once you discovered the truth of such things stereotypes would fly out the window. So really Daisy and Effie treated one another like one of a kind. Or two of a kind as they should say. They felt like they were from some extinct race amongst the rich and glamorous. They were the wives who had rose above their class but never let go of those tastes or traditions they were born with. You couldn't take a place out of a girl, especially if it was where they were born. You never let go of those things. After the play had finished they went out for a drink and a dinner at a high end restaurant in the city to finish off their high end night at Broadway. Effie would prefer a quiet drink in but as usual the men wanted to spoil their wives. Despite feeling out of place Effie felt like she was in a play wearing her dark, jade green silk floaty dress.

"Absolutely wonderful play." Effie commented.

Daisy nodded in agreement. "I loved the satanic dancing in the woods. I almost wanted to jump up onto the stage and dance with them. I would've dragged you along of course, Effie. I wouldn't want you missing out on the fun."

Effie chuckled and clapped with delight. "Oh that would've shocked the high society." She cried.

Alexis and Ivan shook their heads at their wives but smiled affectionately knowing that they loved them for it.

"We're both glad that you didn't do that." Ivan murmured. "That would've raised a few eyebrows and of course I know you wouldn't have resisted in doing something else with them Daisy."

"Well supper would've been sorted." And laughed again.

Effie laughed with her however Alexis knew that this laugh was hiding some disgust. She had become good at hiding things. She was the perfect actress. For years Alexis and Effie had been living clean of blood with having a few moments of indulgence every now and then. They were at least allowed that or that was the extents of their will power. It wasn't completely abstaining but they both knew completely wiping from their systems was impossible. Beginning with trying to abstain completely was merely a short-sighted way of looking at the situation. They were never that foolish. They didn't allow themselves to live in a fantasy world, only in those few moments of intimacy did they allow themselves to believe that they were the only beings in existence in the universe. They began in small steps. First they began to separate the times they feed further and further. Until they could deal with a certain length of time they extended it by another day. They had reached the point where they could almost two months without having to drink from humans and in the vampire that was better than most. In fact they almost seemed more human than vampire with this figure. They had especially planned to go that night since this was the night which they were allowed to have their kill. They didn't want to lose their friendship with Ivan and Daisy or their connections with the vampire community over something like this.

"So Alexis are you to planning to have any children?" Ivan inquired. Effie noticed Daisy immediately looked uncomfortable and turned away.

Alexis shrugged. "Who knows. We're just happy to be together and that's really all we need."

"Yeah. I would seem strange to bring a child into the equation really. Well into such a relationship."

Effie frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ivan shrugged. "Well how could you raise a vampire child? In fact I don't think any vampire has ever bred as humans do. No one would know what would become of it."

"So no one has actually tried conceiving a vampire child? Is that what you're saying?"

He shook his head. "No. But like I said why would you? There's so many risks. How it would age. How it would feed. The pregnancy. All sorts of issues."

Effie couldn't help that she was being gently chastised by her father then again she always saw Ivan as a father. He always knew what was best for Effie. Also with Daisy being Scottish it made her feel like they really were parents. She couldn't help but feel guilty since it almost seemed like she was discarding the family she had when she was human. She looked away thoughtfully as they changed to a different subject, grateful that they had dropped the subject before she could reveal anything else. She would already putting themselves at enough risk by suggesting that she would like to have a child let alone if they found out that she and Alexis were both abstaining. She had to admit when she was human and she knew she was probably going to never get married she still had this maternal need to want to be a mother. What didn't help was that she was constantly looking after everyone in her family. It was her maternal instinct that she was given before she had a child. She knew Daisy enough to know about her own child which she had somewhat lost and knew it was a sensitive subject for her. She had never dwelt on the thought of having a child but she was sure that deep down she wouldn't mind having one. Of course, she could go find an orphan and turn them into a vampire but she found that she would desire more than anything a child that was a part of her and a part of Alexis. It was something which just had to be.

Even if she could only have one chance, only one child that would be enough to contain in one being. She just wanted to be able to hold a child and feel like she was holding an emblem of the love between her and Alexis. It would almost like she was proving to the world that there was nothing tarnished about their love for one another and that she was justified for loving her murderer. Even if millions of people would say that she was going against the laws of nature it was a part of her now. It was what became natural for her and always would be. Perhaps it always a part of her and she just needed him to awaken it. That would be enough for her. Ivan noticed this sudden change in her. She could see it in his eyes throughout their dinner. For a moment Effie had underestimated how perceptive he could be and knew that once she found out this she would soon regret it. For know she believed that her thoughts were hidden in her mind not knowing that they were flashing like cars lights from her eyes. He even noticed the slight flickering of her eye when Daisy brought up the subject of 'supper'. Since he had not seen either of them in a while many things are likely to have changed. He could see it in her eyes. He turned to Alexis and saw that there was a glimmer of something there. Something they were both hiding and he intended to find out what it was.

He slammed his hand on the table as he finished his drink and inhaled deeply. "Well, what do you say we go get something to eat?" He purred.

He cast an eye across the table. Daisy was practically jumping in her chair. She was always excited about the prospect of another kill. That was one thing Effie would never understand about her. Despite seeing eye to eye with her about other matters. Alexis gave a dignified, curt nod and Effie who was preoccupied with her own thoughts have a distracted nod. They all got up from the table swiftly and practically glided across from the table to the door into the night air. It had gotten colder than it was before. Effie wrapped her arms around herself, fearful of what would come out this night hunt. She was afraid that Ivan and Daisy were going to make monsters out of them. She turned to their grinning, hungry faces and shivered as she looked away. She felt a warm, comforting embrace and looked over her shoulder. Alexis had wrapped his coat around her shoulders despite the fact that he would be cold but she knew he didn't care. He only cared for her needs. She hated and loved his caring, generous side. Shed hated she could never return these affections. She could, but she never got the chance.

"So? Where shall we head?" Ivan questioned calmly.

Alexis shrugged his shoulders. "Wherever."

They walked about for a while looking for the next course in their meal. Effie took Alexis' hand and gripped it tightly. She was always afraid of the next kill. She was afraid that was it was going to take her back to where she started. She was afraid that she would have wasted all that effort for nothing. But then again she couldn't go on forever without having something. It was the only way she was going to be able to maintain it all. It was better to have those few moments of weakness rather than having it as a continuous habit that she made for every time she walked out the door. She knew of some vampires who simply couldn't get enough of it. She couldn't understand it. Why couldn't they see that there was something wrong with it? She was almost wishing that they would find no chance of having a lucky kill that night. They had to be careful of course. At that moment they heard a young couple stumbling down an alley way where Ivan cast a sly, hungry glare at the other couple and followed. Alexis gripped her hand tightly and pulled her along, even if he was as reluctant as she was. They allowed the darkness to swallow them up and found that Daisy and Ivan had already cornered them.

"So? Did you see the show?" They heard Ivan asked conversationally.

Effie looked over her shoulder nervously. There was no one coming passed. She wished there was at least someone. She didn't want it to be tonight. She wanted to save it for tomorrow. She was afraid. She was so afraid of letting that monstrous part of her taking her over her. She glanced up at Alexis who was evidently hiding his feelings better than her. He squeezed her hand to give her courage. She took in a deep breath and calmed herself down. Sometimes she wondered whether he didn't really wanted to give it all up or whether he was doing this just for her. She would hate for it to be the latter. She would hate to have to put such a burden on him and she never wanted to be blamed for forcing someone to be something they weren't. She knew if it was the latter they would soon destroy themselves and what they had between them. Daisy looked over her shoulder and gave a mischievous grin. Effie had calmed herself down enough to return this grin with an evil smile of her own. She was good at feigning bloodthirsty madness when she wanted to but she knew it wouldn't be enough to convince Ivan. She would have to break skin in order to convince him there was nothing wrong. The humans replied with nervous mumbles it was almost sad. That they didn't know what was going to come next. All of a sudden both Daisy and Ivan grabbed the man by the arm who shrieked out in fear.

"Get the other one!" Daisy commanded as the woman ran away. "You can have her."

Alexis gulped and nodded to Effie who grabbed her arms as she attempted to run past them. She swung her one round with a simple gesture who slammed against the wall she almost knocked herself out. As she grew older, Effie noticed that she had gotten stronger and her reflexes had become looser, more fluid it took a while getting used to. Sometimes she was even afraid how powerful she could be. She glanced at Alexis he nodded to confirm that the woman was alright but she wasn't going to be for long. She stared up at them with such fear and shook with such petrified dread. Effie knew how that felt, she could feel the day when she died come flooding back to her. She avoided making eye contact with Alexis at this point and he knew why. She tried to slip out of Effie's grasp but her efforts were in vain. Effie was ten times stronger than she was ever capable of being. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes readying herself. Readying herself for the kill. The poor woman she thought she was contemplating sparing her until she opened her eyes. Then she was staring back the merciless, black eyes of Hell.


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

Chapter Thirteen

For **MyLittleStorys**

The following day Ivan and Daisy sat in their dining room eating breakfast when Ivan began to ponder on the events of the previous night. That was a wonderful and strange night. The glamour, the dining and theatre was so wonderful. But there was something else. Some thing wasn't quite right. Alexis and Effie went along with the feeding on the human couple but there was something reluctant in their actions. It was in their eyes. He had known them both for decades. He remembered when they first met him and he was amazed at their acceptance of what they were. There was no much reluctance, so much pity in them there was a split second where they contemplated in letting her go. He was sure of it. He thought on whether they really wanted to suck that woman's blood. What was wrong with them? What had happened the last time they were with them? Or whether they were really like, or trying to be...human. And for vampires at their age. With Alexis' lineage he should know better and shouldn't be so short-sighted. He had lived enough centuries to know that it was time to accept what he was but this didn't seem to be the case. It was a tragedy, but that wasn't the worst tragedy of all. Effie wasn't any different considering she was changed by him. Soon she would realise the depth of her responsibilities and the extents of her powers. Not yet, not for a few decades but they would come soon enough.

Alexis was changed by one of the old ones. The days when the vampire gift was more pure and less diluted. Alexis was much older than they were. He was four times Ivan's age, probably more. The more he speculated the more his assumptions became certain facts. He threw down his paper in frustration and rubbed his eyes. Alexis should know better, he probably encouraged Effie to behave like this. She was so beautiful when he first met her. She was so graceful, so sure of herself, of who and what she was. Now he had completely confused her, disarrayed the balance of her nature. Ivan hated him for it. Now she was a lost sheep. She had no where to go. She would wander about in the darkness, blinded by a concept which she named morality. The set of rules she used to follow but now were no longer necessary to follow now that she was a different being. She said that. She believed that. Ivan knew she believed and accepted that and that was the beautiful thing about her. If she wasn't so young, he would've fallen in love with her because of it. But he was more proud of her. He was a proud father looking over his daughter and seeing her thrive at what she was and what she was going to become. Now she would come to nothing. She was be a nothing. Not unless he did something about it.

"Daisy." Daisy looked up briefly from her breakfast. "I think we should go see Alexis and Effie before we go to Miami. We see so little of them and I just thought it would be nice to see them before we go off again."

Daisy scratched the back of her neck self-consciously and nodded. "Yeah. I mean there was something I wanted to talk to Effie about anyway."

Ivan narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "Really? And what would that be?"

Daisy glanced back at him uncomfortably and rubbed her arm. "I...It's a girl thing. Girl talk."

Ivan leaned back in his chair and gave Daisy and calculated look. "Daisy. I know that our bond is not as strong as theirs and so we don't know each others thoughts but what I do know is when you're lying. Now, its is something to do with them looking a reluctant to feed last night that's okay. Because that's why we're really going to see them."

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief and threw her hand down on the table. "Thank God. I...Did you see them? It's like they were disgusted at the thought of it. It's as plain as day. I'm really worried about them Ivan, you know Effie is like a-"

Daisy was turned way after Effie became a vampire so the whole concept of her being a daughter to her was rather strange. Or most people would think it a little ironic but that was the thing about their friendship, it made sense to no one but themselves. They had this empathy towards one another which could only be shared by two like minded people. However Daisy did have this superiority to her which seemed rather evident now considering the current predicament their friends were evidently facing. She had never seen her like that before. She could remember when they were both sneaking off like naughty teenagers while their husbands were having another drink and they would feast on the first couple of people they would come across. It certainly wouldn't be difficult if they were a couple of men. But then again it never made a difference when it came to Effie. Somehow she was just able to draw people to her. It was her eyes. They were dark and irresistible. Sometimes Daisy was just in awe of her power of people.

Ivan shook his head. "I know. It's awful. It's tragic when that happens to one of our kind. I remember when I first met her all those years ago she was so magnificent she was almost a vampire prodigy. She had so easily accepted it, she didn't question what she was she just...saw it as nature. As a part of herself now."

Daisy glanced at Ivan as she poured the tea. "Do you think it was Alexis?"

"It has to be. I can't imagine it being Effie's idea. That would be far from being her idea. Although with someone like Alexis who is very, very old I can tell you this is a huge surprise. He's got the most unimaginable powers you know."

"Really? What can he do?"

"Let's put this way, he's more powerful than Herrick and Mitchell combined and so will she one day."

~ (***) ~

Meanwhile, when Alexis and Effie heard that Ivan and Daisy was going to call they both knew why they were going to call. They weren't stupid. They were vampires and they knew when they had to be cautious and when they had to be afraid for their very lives. It was the only way they had been able to survive for all these centuries. It was an intrinsic part of a vampire's nature. They didn't plan on it, they didn't talk about it the night before. They only did something like this when they wanted to catch them in the act. Vampires were also predatory. They knew it was about when they attacked those people. They knew from the look in their eyes that they could hide their disgust by baring their fangs but they could hide the fear and dread in their eyes. Effie had been thinking about it all night. She had been sharing it twice fold with Alexis' polluted thoughts of that blood-split night. Neither of them couldn't stop thinking about it. The taste of the blood on their tongue. The black, bottomless pit of darkness which they stared into at they fed all the life she had left. It was beautiful, seductive, diabolical and evil. They couldn't escape from it. A part of them didn't want to but they knew unless they didn't rip themselves away from that life it would eventually consume them.

"They won't find out anything, my Love." Alexis whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Effie stared out the window as she smoked a cigarette.

She let out a puff of smoke. "Yeah. Yes. Of course they won't. Still Alexis." She broke away from his embrace. "If this was a mere whim, just a...They know. They are just coming here to confirm it. So that they can have evidence to that back to them."

"Then we have to make sure they don't find anything." He shot back sternly.

The ferocity of his voice made her shudder. She stepped back and gripped the table behind, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. He could see her shaking with petrified fear and he hated himself for that. He never wanted her to be afraid of him. He closed his eyes and sighed, taking a moment to calm himself. He couldn't lose control. Not now. He walked towards her arms stretched for an embrace which she walked away from. He watched her with a forlorn look in his eyes. What he couldn't bare more than her being afraid of him was her rejecting him completely. Sometimes she could be so afraid of him. There was a wild, malicious side to her Heathcliff. She loved his brutal side sometimes but on other occasions she found herself feeling human once again and felt like she was back home and was about to be feasted upon by him. She would be so afraid of feeling human once again. Being vulnerable. Being weak. But then again she would also feel...aroused. That was something else that scared her. That wasn't supposed to arouse her. It was supposed to disgust her but that was just how she felt. It was because she was desired by him. It was the only way he could express it. She hated all these conflicting emotions and she knew it was a result of the fact that she wanted to be human but she never would be. She would always be the blood-thirsty vampire that she was.

"I can't...It's just so hard..." Her voice shook with such fear and turmoil she almost threatened to break the table into pieces which she gripped onto for support.

"Euphemia." He breathed in a husky voice.

He placed the palms of his hand on either side of hers and lent his chest against her back whispering into her ear. "I know it is so hard but you know...You know that the life...that life we would have would destroy us both. It would make the love that we have for one another so impure. It would destroy us both first myself then you and I would rather purge in the fires for all eternity than to see you suffer for even a moment."

She pressed her lips together tightly and her body shook so violently trying to contain the fierce emotions begged to be unleashed.

"You talk of sacrificial suffering but what about me? Am I not allowed to suffer for you? How can you say these things which make me love you even more but they can be so cruel." She sobbed.

"Why do you-"

"Euphemia." He shushed. "Calm down. Be calm. They will be here soon. We have to make sure they have nothing to suspect. You have to wash your face and I will tell them that you were tired this morning and got up late. Nothing must be amiss. Do you understand?"

She nodded after a lengthily hesitation. She hated having to lie to Ivan. She cared about him. He was a father to her. But she also loved him enough to keep this from him. She knew it would break his heart if he found out what she was doing. She was going against the very principles which she demonstrated all those years ago when they first met. It would break his heart. She slipped out of his arms before he brushed his lips against her shoulder and watched her walk away. Alexis knew how much Daisy and Ivan meant to her. He didn't mind them if he was to be honest. He rather liked their company. They weren't gaudy or into some strange sexual fetishes which other vampires wished to discuss over food. They had class. How had it come to this? After being able to come this far and now there was an obstacle. They would not be punished for doing such a thing they would be bothered, they would be constantly watched like criminals but wouldn't receive a criminal sentence. Then a knock which seemed to appear out of the silence so intrusively, so suddenly came from the door. Alexis was swift and cautious when he opened the door to Ivan and Daisy. Ivan plastered a charming, bright smile on his face.

"Alexis." He greeted, his name rolling off his tongue as slippery as a snake and clapped his hand on his back. "How are you?"

"Very well. We thought you were heading to Miami today."

"Ah, Miami can wait a few hours. Our friends will always come first."

"Where's Effie?" Daisy asked with a warm smile on her face.

Alexis nodded up the stairs where she swiftly skipped up the stairs. Her stared after her hoping that Effie could call to her acting skills once again. This time being completely full proof.


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: I've just set up a poll concerning this fan fiction which is now on my profile page apparently. Anyway as you all know you have to be registered into the website in order to participate. Blah, blah, blah. Anyway with concerns to closing dates. I was thinking of giving it a month and then I'll announce the results on the next story since there is only going to be four chapters left. So unless I don't finish this story before I go to Ghana for three weeks you won't be finding out until the sequel to this story or at least till the end of next month where I'll wait to post the last chapter which will be the closing date. Also if there's any problems with voting since I put the options up as links so if you can't find the page or whatever please, please, please email me and I'll try to sort it out but forgive me if I don't get back to you from between the 1st and 21st of July since that's when I'm away in Ghana. GET VOTING!

Chapter Fourteen

For **MaxRideRox**

This was the first time Effie ever felt like this but she couldn't wait for Ivan and Daisy to leave. Just having them there was painful. She hated deceiving them like this but she knew if they found out eventually those high up would find out and they would intervene as a result of Alexis' status. They would accuse her of putting these ideas in his head and she would have to pay. He was too well known, too well respected to be put on trial. They would try to 'treat' him for these things they they were feeling. After they had left the house was left in a deadly silence. They both looked at one another for so long they knew by the time they both wondered off to do their own thing that Ivan and Daisy were long gone. They both knew they had passed. Perhaps for now anyway. They wouldn't get people banging on their doors any time soon but they knew they would have to keep up appearances. They had given the right answers to the questions presented to them but they still weren't off the hook. They were going to questioned, suspected in the future. They still had to cautiously walked out throughout the world. They always had to cover the tracks of their words rather than the footsteps that they left behind. The world of the supernatural was now going to be a more dangerous world than that of humans. It wasn't humans which now laid as a threat to them. It was ironic actually.

Instead of the humans having to live in fear or used to live in fear of them anyway. They were the ones who now lived in fear. Effie had to live with the fear that one day she was going to slip away into the monster she once was. Effie had never felt so human since the day that Alexis turned her. It was human to have these horrible feelings and regretting them. For a long time she felt them but she accepted them as a part of her nature. That day now stuck in her mind more predominantly than it ever had ever done. Alexis took her humanity away from her but the next time he saw her he gave a part of it back to her. It was the least he could do all things considered. It was a day she was never going to forget. Out of all her decades which on some occasions seemed to pass like a blur it was the day which was her beginning would be the clearest and most dearest to her. It was the day which would always haunt her. She was never going to be able to escape from it no matter how much she tried to be human. Not the day which she first killed, it was the day she became the monster she now was. She knew more than ever know that was what it was. If she returned she may be able to lay those demons to rest. She may be able to accept that day she became a monster and regress back into being something close to human.

"I need to go home." She whispered in a small voice.

Alexis looked up with a look of shock and fear in his eyes. She didn't know why he was behaving like this. It wasn't like she was asking a big request from him. Perhaps he didn't hear her and thought she said something else? Despite the quietness of her voice Alexis heard what she said and despite the ambiguity in her choice of words he knew what she meant. He knew the reason why she needed to go back. Not wanted, _needed. _He could feel the yearning in her soul for her to return. He had to admit he felt like he could be enough for her and eventually, after a certain amount of time he could make up for what he did for her family. He thought that they had gotten passed all of that. He didn't mean to trivialise them, he knew how much her family meant to her but they meant more than that to one another. He knew her soul all too well. He knew her spirit better than he knew his own. It was easier to understand and accept another persons soul than your own because even when you came to the moment of your death there were still some things which you never wanted to admit about yourself. If he was human it would take him longer to realise what she meant but because he could feel those emotions. He could feel the longing that was becoming stronger and stronger as time passed on. That was the dangerous thing. It wasn't the fearful thing, it was the dangerous thing.

As she was young her passions were strong and would elevate under they would be uncontrollable even by her. They could defeat time because they were no longer a part of it yet they were also it victims as they never had the release of death to relieve them from it. They had to carry these heavy burdens for eternity or maybe even beyond that. It was a sad life being a vampire. Humans glamorize and glorify it in their films and in their literature when in reality its a lowly existence. They were no better than the drunks and the drug addicts on the streets begging for money for the next time they could get high. Its a curse. He scorned at Hollywood's depiction of vampires and the lives they led. It was much uglier than film directors and writer presumed. Everyone was obsessed with living forever. In a way people who were left for dead and not turned were being saved. They would wander to their eternal rest. They had to remain. What he had done to Effie was his blessing and her curse. He had done himself good whereas he did her wrong. He had been selfishly cruel. He had kept her from one that release from all that pain just to give him some comfort. He knew they would meet again after leaving her on that cold evening and would take his side.

"I thought you had no home." He replied stonily.

"I need to go to my grave." She corrected. It was her home he just wanted to keep things light-hearted. If he joked about it then it wouldn't be serious, it didn't need to be acted upon.

Alexis tilted his head and tried to wrap his arms around her but she slid away. "You know I need to go back, Alexi." She pleaded using the pet name she had christened him with the morning after their first love-making.

He strained himself and tightened his jaw. "You know that is almost...an impossibility." He reasoned.

He could almost laugh at himself. This was his last resort and it was the one thing which defied his own existence. It was the one argument which allowed their existence to remain a secret from the humans. It was the one thing which could protect them from one another. This was all he could do. Reason. He felt so emotionless and helpless and despised himself for it. He was supposed to be stronger than this. He was supposed to be one of the strongest of all vampires and he felt weaker than most humans. It pained her and he knew this. He hated that it pained her but he also hoped that it would control these human needs and passions. He was so kind and selfish to her. How could someone be both these things? No human could feel both these things for another person. However long ago he had to abandon all these boundaries. When he thought about this it made him out to be a hypocrite. He hated himself as she began to hate him. Neither of them could help but feel the emotions the other was feeling but since her passions and emotions were stronger he was more at the mercy of hers rather than she be at his. It was such a burden to have to take on the emotions of another person as well as your own.

They knew this before they committed themselves to the bond. They knew the joy and the suffering it would bring. This was what happened people wrapped themselves within each others souls. No wonder this gift was deprived from most humans, just imagine what would happen if they all knew the deepest secrets of each others souls. Even though it was hypocritical to say this but some humans were pretty messed up. Some of their inner, up-most desires were like twisted dreams which remained far away from reality for a reason. It was allowed to be created into an actuality then there would be absolute chaos. There was a lot of responsibility to be found in imagination. Just look at those who allowed their sick imaginings to become a reality. It almost destroyed them knowing about their entire souls. Sometimes they knew more about each other than they knew about themselves. But they knew that it was the only way they could be whole. They no longer needed to be lost souls without that other half which left open wounds for nothingness to fill. They no longer than to feel any more empty than they were before. But that void was filled with pain as well as happiness. He was able to see the invisible tears streaming down her cheeks.

"We are an impossibility." She moaned.

She craned her back as if threatening to snap her back in two. He held her by the shoulders fearfully and leaned her forward. Sometimes he forgot that she was young. So passionate in her emotions, yearning for comfort and release more than he, who had lived so many centuries when she had lived only decades.

"We are. But we are not the only impossible beings, Love. We cannot the bend the rules to our will."

"BUT WE ALREADY ARE!" She screamed. She pulled away and tore at her hair even pulling out a few locks. "WE ARE DEFYING WHAT WE ARE! AND I WANT TO! I want to...be a being of light again. Not of the darkness. It is so sad and I think it would be easier...once I laid that day to rest. If you just take me back I can put away the monster after facing where I was born." She pressed her face into his chest and sobbed.

"My Love, my Love." He murmured as he stroked her hair. "My Love, my Love."

"Am I your love?" She asked in a weedy voice. "Am I? You have lusted for so many and you can so easily hide those dark corners from me easier than I can from you. So I don't know..."

"I have never loved another being as I have loved you. When I believed that I loved another person we never had the bond that I have with you. That is impossible. Unless I take another as I have you I can't and I won't." He pledged. "I don't think my heart could bare it."

"You have never loved another like me?"

"I have never loved another as much as I have loved you. Even the word. Love. Even that word cannot define the emotions I feel for you. It is unknown, unfounded word which can reiterate it."

"Never." She whispered.

He peered down at her and brushed his fingers through her coal, black hair. It was so wildly curly, reflect the passions from within that couldn't be controlled. It made him think of the time when he saw her running towards her father. Her hair was flying wildly in the wind as if she were Cathy Earnshaw. He, her Heathcliff. Her cruel, devoted Heathcliff. Her bright brown eyes which were so bottomless and dark. He sometimes feared staring into them as he felt he was plunging into them. He would get lost in those dark abysses. So like Cathy Earnshaw. They haunted him. They haunted his dreams. They haunted him in those few occasions when they were briefly apart from one another. They were his soul. When he looked into her soul his was staring back at him.

"Alright, my Love."

"What?" She looked up tearfully. He didn't look back.

"We'll go. We'll go only for a little. I'll give you a few moments before you can leave it behind for good." He kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you. Thank you, my Darling."

He smiled and endowed her with a million kisses. "My Cathy. My Cathy."


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: Hi Guys! Sorry it's been so long since I posted a chapter. Most of you will know its mostly due to my 3 week voluntary trip to Ghana. Also there's other stories that I've been writing which have distracted me as well. So I'm making up for it with an especially long chapter. I hope everyone likes! He, he he anyway... I also wanted to state that I'm keeping the polls open especially for those who may not know about it. If you don't go on my profile page and you'll find it there. It's asking which actress would be most suitable to play Effie, so please vote if you can aka if you're registered into the website. Anyway I'm keeping it open until I post the final chapter and including this one there are three chapters left. What I'll do is when I post the next chapter which will be whenever really and I'll give everyone an extra week to vote until I'll post the final chapter and the results to the poll. Okay, thanks for the support guys and get voting! Remember R&R!

Chapter Fifteen

For **kattie-anz**

It had been a long journey. A painful journey. For the whole time Alexis watched as his wife's pain grew increasingly by the minute. He had never seen her so weak, so human. He knew they should never have made this journey but he knew that she would never be able to forgive him if he refused to grant her this one wish. It was something she desired more than anything. He had taken everything she held dear. She never had much growing up, so it was the least he could do. She watched the world pass her by at the swiftness which seemed sufficient to someone who had lived for as long as she did. She smirked at the whole concept of time now. It was something which was irrelevant to her in any context. It didn't matter anymore when it was the one thing which mattered to humans above all things because it was the only thing they couldn't control. In the blink of an eye another human life had ended. Some hardly thought about it at all and just lived in the moment until it was gone. On several occasions he considered asking her whether she wanted to turn back but knew the answer he would receive and remained silent. That was something else. Sometimes they at least exchanged a few words on some phases where they would sit in almost silence. This time not even a whisper was exchanged. Effie didn't even look at him. Or kiss him. The journey began to pain him as much as it did her.

"It's beautiful here." Alexis commented. It was the first thing he had said in days and knew it was best to start off with something bright.

She nodded solemnly. "It is. It is. Sometimes I've forgotten how much. Other times its beauty haunts me too much."

Alexis gulped and looked down. The words were stuck in his throat. She knew the words before they heard them, before they passed his lips.

"I know you think we shouldn't have come." She continued. "But I know what I'm doing, Alexi. I hope you can trust me on this one occasion. I know you know more about the world than I and are much more wiser than I but I think I go back one last time I think everything will finally be well with me."

"I have never thought for a moment that you know nothing about the-"

"It's alright." She said softly. She reached out and brushed her fingers against his cheek and tilted her head. "It's alright, my Love."

He knew now that he could delude himself into thinking that everything was going to be alright. He could banish that paranoid thought that something was coming. Something terrible. Something that would rip apart their world forever. He took it tightly into his and kissed it ferociously, to see his fierce passion was something which stirred the animal within Effie and therefore needed to be kept in check. However she was in low spirits so she knew it was going to do very little harm to her. In fact it would probably be better for her spirits to stir it a little. He held it in his until the train stopped at the town they were staying at. They weren't going to stay in the village it was much too dangerous. They didn't want to slip too soon before they had their one moment of indulgence so recently. That was when they were at their most dangerous. It was always best to keep humanity at more than arms length during this time. However he was more concerned for the danger which would befall onto Effie rather than the inhabitants themselves at coming across them. He had arranged a nice apartment which had a good view of a lake. Effie remembered the lake well. Sometimes she would take Moira on days out in the afternoon. She remembered how the sun would sparkle onto the water she would almost believe that there were diamonds underneath the surface. She reached down once and found nothing but water. Just clear water.

They had stayed there for a few days and remained within the town. It took a while before either of them plucked up the courage to go to where they came to visit. It wasn't an easy journey to make that was certain. Alexis could feel the fear and dread in her bones. He almost suggested on some opportunities that it was probably best if she didn't go. Alexis was hoping that this would turn out to be a sight-seeing holiday and that they wouldn't be physically be going to the house. That place had bad memories for him too. There was a reason why Effie was so different to all the other kills and recruitments he had made. He desired her. Just from watching her on the hill he knew he wanted her. But also he saw the anguish in her eyes when he saw her dragging herself through a life she was trapped in. He also knew the pain he had caused for taking those things she took joy in to compensate for that. He hoped that coming here would be enough. However he wasn't this naïve. However this didn't hit him until the morning he woke up with Effie gone. He went into the bathroom to check if she was washing herself and went through all the other rooms in their apartment and found nothing. He went to all the maids and none of them saw her in the building until one was able to tell him that she saw a woman of that description leaving a few hours ago.

"Are you sure? Are you sure that you saw her?" He demanded.

The woman nodded. There was no doubt in her eyes. "She said nothing to any of us either. She just left." He looked him up and down. "Is there any reason why she should leave?"

He straightened up. "I don't think that's any concern of yours."

She raised her eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a woman, sir. I just thought I might be able to help."

"It's nothing like that." He assured her, calming down a little.

She almost laughed. "It never is."

He gave her a murderous look which scared her away but he knew she wasn't completely afraid of him. No doubt if he returned to the hotel alone she would waiting for him and come after him to taunt him on his wasted efforts. If she did, he was tempted to break his promise and take an early feed.

An older woman took her by the shoulder. "I'm sure you will, sir." She gave the younger woman a disapproving look and turned back to Alexis and gave him a gracious smile.

He nodded to the older woman and walked away back to his room. Well, he more ran than walked. He wanted to get away from the other one. He could smell a lewd woman from a mile off, as could his wife. She would know, she used to prey on them in the beginning. Also there was nothing had ever been more urgent than this. He grabbed his coat before leaving the hotel himself and set off to the only place he knew where to find her. He didn't need to have an eternal, unbreakable bond with his vampire bride to be able to know where she was headed. The only thing which could break their bond was death and that, they could both even be able to know if it happened. For the whole journey there he swore he felt his dead heart beating in his chest even though this was impossible. He ran up the hill which he once tread on years ago when he was chasing after his prey rather than his Love.

He threw his head up into the wild Scottish winds and scoured the area for her whereabouts. The strength of the mountain winds weren't enough to knock him down. He was too determined to find his wife. There was no other man more determined to reclaim his wife once again. One of the advantages given to vampires was enhanced strength as well as being able to deal with cold weather such as this. In fact, they preferred cold winds to hot deserts. Or that was his and Effie's personal preference anyway. He wondered whether the house still stood where it once did all those years ago. Everything looked barren and bare. All just hills and mountains. For all they knew it could've been knocked down and reconstructed or humanity may have decided to leave nature as they found it. Everyone, more than the other was reconstructing nowadays. Humans seemed to have a tendency to disrespect the concept of preservation and authenticity. They wanted new things. They wanted to go further than leaving the past behind. They wanted to destroy and discard it. In some ways, humans were worse than vampires. Sometimes the interior of humans souls, could be a lot more uglier than that of vampires.

He looked around in a panic and as if she appeared out of nowhere Effie was there. He saw her black, wild mane blowing in the wind first. She was in her element while in Scotland. He could imagine her as almost a spectre crossing the hills with her hair flying in the wind, barefoot and wild. Just as he loved her. Just as he desired her. She very rarely brushed her hair but then again she never needed to. She looked more beautiful with it wild and unruly. It reminded him of the wild, warrior women of England during the Roman era. She had a rural natural face which made him mistake her for a Celtic priestess or queen. If her hair was red instead of black he could've mistaken her for Boadicea. However this time he couldn't see her face. Her eyes were directed at the house which was once her home and her family's graveyard. He approached her slowly. He didn't want to startle nor aggravate her when she was so sensitive. He gently touched her shoulder when he was close enough. She didn't react at first but he knew by the slight movement she made that she acknowledged his presence.

"It's so hard to say goodbye." She said finally in a small voice. "Why is it so hard to say goodbye?"

Alexis didn't know the answer to this. He never had to say goodbye. His mother died before he was turned. His father was killed in battle, as was his older brothers. He had no one to bid farewell when he entered into his second life.

"I don't know, my Love." He admitted. "I never had to."

Still without turning round to face him, her tearless face almost smiled. "No one? There was no one you loved you wanted to bid farewell?"

"They were all dead before my day came." This was when she erupted into sobs.

She buried her face in his chest where he held her close and tight. She sobbed until she soaked his shirt with tears. The wind roared around them, crying with her. Mourning for the human she once was, angered by the monster she had become.

"I have to do one more thing." She whispered.

Alexis nodded and followed her down the hill. She led him by a cold, still hand. She didn't shake. She wasn't afraid. She was calm. She knew she was going to visit dead graves, not living relatives demanding an explanation for her absence. They was no need, they knew her reasons. She had been down that hill so many times she never thought she would be venturing down it once again. She had more happier memories of going down at hill, never sad ones. Never on a day such as this one. Not after the last time she had been here. She had the intention that she would never come back again. She saw this place as a forsaken graveyard. It was no longer the warm, comforting home she once loved however by the evident gardening and the reconstruction of her home someone else had obviously made it their own. She felt no scorn, no regret. Nothing. She felt nothing for this place. It was no longer her home. It was just an empty building with another family and furniture in it. She didn't bury them on the main grounds of her home and went out a little further into the vast, open hills a little behind her house where she knew the bodies had been buried.

She had a feeling that someone may make a home here one day and she didn't want their bodies being dug up and placed elsewhere or worse, destroyed. She knew the spot all too well. It was beneath a tree they would sometimes eat or spend the afternoons together. They were there at times of happiness which should bring tears to her eyes, but they didn't. Not yet. She wanted them to have an eternal, joyful sleep despite their destructive end. Those with a sad ending deserved a happy afterlife. She knelt by their graves and brushed her fingers against the mounds where grass and wild flowers had grown over them. It was as if nature had brought them into her warm embrace. Her cold tears fell upon the ground like spring rain, envying them and regretting her actions.

"I've come to say goodbye." She whispered. "You can at least hate me for one less thing. I at least came back to give you a proper goodbye."

_They aren't angry with me are they?_

_I don't know, my Love. I can't answer for them. _

_Tell me that they're not angry with me. Tell me that they forgive me. Please._

Alexis hesitated but complied, knowing that her happiness was now at stake. _They're not angry with you. They forgave you before you even put them in the ground. They're even proud of you. For being able to carry on this far. To be able to fight the monstrous side of your very nature. _

She was silent again. She took these words in, he could see in her features that she was scrutinizing each word, then replied.

_Thank you. That's a generous lie. For a wretched creature such as me, such as us, that is a generous lie. Thank you. _

During this exchange Alexis wondered why she didn't converse outside the realms of speech but in their minds. Was it to make sure she knew he didn't lie? She knew that he would lie if they talked using their tongues rather than their minds.

_I just can't talk right now. It takes up too much energy to even talk. _

Alexis watched her, fascinated. He had never gotten used to her sudden outbursts of emotion, probably because he was used vampires being so conservative and emotionless. That was how they were built. They wouldn't be able to hunt, prey and feed if they relied on their emotions too much. However since they were different to most vampires then they could have the exception, but her levels of emotions was still beyond normal, even for a vampire of her age. Her emotions were at an all time high but he had never seen a vampire express this much compassion. He knew she loved and hated her family to the extents where most humans very rarely achieved. It almost disgusted him. He wanted to vomit or shake her by the shoulders to snap her out of it but all he could do was stand and stare at her in amazement. He was fine with leaving the past as it was but he still respected it. However he never expressed it so publicly. She was fearless in expressing her emotions. That may have been a great flaw of hers as well as being her greatest quality.

He looked down at the graves and frowned. "Effie. How many brothers did you have again? I know you only had one sister and a father. But I can't remember."

"Five." She answered, wiping her eyes. "Why?"

Alexis looked around and counted the graves. "That would make seven graves. Wouldn't it?"

She nodded with a puzzled look on her face. He turned away from the graves and back to her.

"There's only six. There's one person that hasn't been buried."

She shook her head. "That's impossible. I dug up all their graves."

She turned to the graves and counted them and found that Alexis was right. There were only six graves. She turned back to him in a panic.

"You killed all of my siblings though." He nodded.

She shook her head. "I don't understand. Unless for some reason they drank a little sliver of your blood and was turned into one after I left the bodies."

Alexis shook his head. "That's impossible. All of this is impossible. There must be another explanation."

"There can't be! Unless he survived and you-" Then she stopped herself.

They both knew the end of that sentence. She loved him enough to not mention how much of a brutal, terrible creature he once was too much.

She blinked. "Look. He may still be alive. Or she. I don't know. I'm not saying I'm eager for a reunion, especially where I am emotionally at the moment and goodness what sort of...creature they have become. If they were...turned I mean."

Alexis shook his head, still not believing what he was seeing. "They can't of survived. The only way is to have been turned." Then a thought struck him. "It may not have been by me though."

Effie frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Scotland is mainly werewolf territory. It may not have been myself, nor a _vampire _which saved and turned them."

"What? Are you saying my brother, sister or father may have been turned into a werewolf?"

"It's most likely." He replied coolly.

Effie turned away back to the graves thinking on how lucky the deceased were. When she was told of werewolves she didn't think much of it. The more it was talked of, the more she became aware that those such of her, such hate those such as werewolves. That was just how it was. She never felt any hatred towards them herself, she had never came across a werewolf but she was told that she would know one when she saw one. She wasn't ready to hate something she hadn't judged for herself yet so she always kept her opinions to herself on the matter through the method of silence. But now that there was the possibility that one of her siblings or even her father was one she now had all the more reason not to hate them. Now that someone of her blood was a werewolf, she was therefore bound to them. She had no choice. She was no longer than last Blackwood nor was she willing to remain so through rejection on her part.

Alexis gazed at her knowing about her feelings towards the werewolves now, felt that it was his duty to warn her of these feelings.

"Careful. Be careful of who you share those feelings with. Our kind is supposed to hate their."

"And we are supposed to drink their blood as well but we're taking steps towards going against that completely aren't we?" She challenged. He looked down, accepting that she wasn't going to agree with him.

"Why are we supposed to hate them?" She asked with a look of disbelief on her face. "I don't understand."

Alexis hesitated. "It is how it has always been. That is the answer they would probably want me to give you but it's much worse than that. Our race has been much more crueller to them than they have to us and mainly it is down to the belief that we are higher than them."

Effie shook her head. "But we're not. We're the same mindless beings. We're just as wretched as they are."

"Be careful. Be careful of who you say that to." He warned with a shaking voice.

"I have a feeling you haven't told me everything." She replied.

He shook his head. "No. I haven't told you everything."


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: Hey guys! So we're finally at the penultimate chapter! Anyway, this also means that the final chapter will be posted in a week and also that will be when the polls close. Of course there's the whole time difference thing which I will take into account so I'll try to figure out the time when it will have definitely been midnight or something across the whole world or across all the countries who read this story and then I'll close the polls then and the result will be posted along with the final chapter just so its fair. I will saved my thanks until then but I won't hesitate to say now how happy I am I've had so much support with this story and the feedback I've got. But anyway, save that for the next chapter. Remember to vote and R&R!

Chapter Sixteen

For **PeaceLightVictory**

The walk back was as quiet as the journey to Scotland. Not a word was exchanged. Neither of them even made a sound as they walked across a woodland which was littered with twigs upon its floor. Effie expected Alexis to tell her about 'the things he hadn't told her about' but not a single word passed his lips. It almost angered her. She wanted to rip his throat out and drain him of his blood as if she would be draining him of his secrets. How dare he keep these secrets from her. There were things about the limitations of her abilities, some powers which she didn't even know about. Now there were aspects of the history of her kind which she was being blinded from. Why was it that he treated her like a delicate little doll when she was anything but? As she was infected by someone of noble blood she therefore was one of the strongest of her kind, once she got to her prime that is. Then she would become the strongest of her kind. Still, why he was handling the raising of her so delicately was beyond her.

Alexis had his reasons for keeping so much of the truth from Effie. He wanted to keep her as pure as he could. She was already a creature of the darkness no matter how much she denied her needs and her nature. They were abstaining from drinking blood but still, he had to take all the precautions and the measures he could to keep her as that young Scottish girl that he watched from a distance on that day he infected her with the darkness within him. All because he was so selfish. All of his actions could only ever be attributed to his selfishness it was only until that day when he realised that it was selfishness which fuelled his actions. It was the guilt of his actions which made him realise that. That was the only reason he could find for such behaviour. He took all the goodness that she had within her and took it away in the blinking of an eye. He murdered all of her family, simply because he wanted her. As he watched her from beneath the trees in the woods across from her home, he fantasised about ripping open her dress and feeding on her until she was his. It was all out of pure lust and greed. As he watched her walk through the woods now he still lusted after. He wanted her to be his and only his but he knew that sort of thinking was inconsiderate. He would be punished for his selfishness eventually.

He stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky. It was past midnight now. There was something eerie in the air. There was something which didn't seem right. Something which even they, one of the most deadly predators upon this earth should fear. What it was Alexis couldn't tell. He searched through the area to see what it was, he commanded Effie to stop walking and wait for him. Effie gave her husband a concerned look and looked around herself to see what it was that frightened him so much. She couldn't hear anything except some rustling in the grass. After a while she did hear something. If it was possible, her heart may have skipped a beat when she heard another's. It certainly wasn't a woodland creatures heart beat and it wasn't a human. It was something else. Something as deadly as them. She frowned and looked up at the sky and almost gave out a cry. It was a full moon and Scotland was werewolf territory.

"Alexis." She whispered. He held up his hand to silence her.

_Alexi I'm scared. _

_I know. You have to keep a clear head. They're close. _

_They're? There's more than one?_

_Yes, my Love. But you must be quiet. They may be hunters by nature as we are but we still have to cautious of them in their wolf form. You cannot reason with them because they have none. In that form they have lost all sense and ability to reason. _

Effie blinked at the darkness and leaned in to see if she could hear all their heartbeats. So that she could have an idea as to how many werewolves she was dealing with. She had never had to deal with werewolves before. She knew about their existence but she had never met one face to face.

_There's about twelve of them. _

_Yes, about. Probably a bit more than that they usually travel in packs up here. It's very rare when there's one by themselves. _

_We have to get away from them. We can't take them. _

_I know. I'm just trying to figure out how. We have to be careful as to which way we should leave the forest. We don't want to cross paths with them. _

_I know. _

She turned back to the darkness, knowing that they weren't going to escape from this. They had to turned and face the darkness, not matter what emerged out of it in the end. Effie had never been more terrified her in life. The moment where she was turned by Alexis wasn't even close. That was nowhere close as being as terrifying as this moment. In some ways, the hours where she laid in her own blood after being turned by Alexis was quite calm and comforting. She at least had an idea of what was going to happen next but at the same time she was fine with not knowing the rest. The thing which Effie feared the most about this situation was the unknown. She knew what was the come after she had been turned. She had heard enough stories, no matter how many had turned out to be mere myth but now she had no idea what sort of monster could emerge from the bushes.

Then another thought occurred to her. What may be hiding in the darkness could be her brother, or sister or even her father. She didn't know whether werewolves could live eternally like vampires could but then again there was always the possibility. There was always the chance that she could be facing her sibling or parent in their most monstrous form. And that scared her the most because she had the set belief all these years that they were in the ground and resting as they should be. Now there was one less grave and one more monster in the world. She could take all the darkness, the burden of an eternal life but she couldn't accept that there was another Blackwood out there taking that as well. They didn't deserve it. Not after what Alexis had put them through. Maybe she was wrong. She now remembered that werewolves didn't live eternally like vampires. Maybe they were dead now. Finally at peace. That was what she wanted more than anything else. She turned to her husband momentarily when this thought occurred to her and looked away again when he could sense her doing so. She didn't want him knowing what she was thinking about.

_Alexi...I'm sorry..._

_For what?_

_I'm sorry for coming here. It's my fault. If I hadn't been so petty and weak we wouldn't be here, in this situation. I should have let the past stay in the past. _

_No, Effie. Darling, no. That makes you stronger than most vampires. Vampires which try to let the past remain in the past are running from it. You faced something which is more terrifying to a vampire than anything else and that's their own mortality. _

_We're both facing our mortality right now. Alexis, I've never been more terrified than I am now. _

_You've faced your death, Effie. You've face your past. There's nothing more terrifying than that. You can face anything now. _

_No, Alexi. Don't glorify me. Please. _

_But you deserve it. You deserve to be glorified. _

_I'm just a simple vampire, Alexi. _

Effie heard a twig snap under someone- or something's foot. The sharp, piercing sound made her head snap in the direction it came from.

_No, Effie. There's something I have to tell you. _

_Alexi, not now. _

_No. Just in case I don't come out of this alive, I have to tell you something. I was born a vampire. _

These words took away all the fear from the present danger and replaced it with stunned shock. If Alexis was a born vampire he was stronger than a mere vampire turned by a pure-blood. He was a descent of the dark legions. She was more stronger than she could've imagined.

_You're a pure-blood?_

_Yes. I know now isn't exactly the best time to tell you..._

_I could've thought of better time, Alexis. Perhaps a time sooner than now..._

_I know! But I was afraid of losing you. _

_Alexis, that excuse is ridiculous. _

_It isn't an excuse I swear to you. Listen. All the history of the vampires with the werewolves can be explained to you by someone else. _

_Don't talk like that. Don't talk like you're not going to get out of this alive. _

_I'm only thinking practically, Effie. Listen to me. You're going to develop abilities soon. Abilities beyond the norm of most vampires. The only reason why I didn't tell you sooner is because these __don't develop until you're at least a hundred years old. Maybe a little later in your case. That is the only reason, besides fear, that I didn't tell you until now. _

_Why? What were you afraid of?_

_These powers can corrupt the purest of heart, my Love. I didn't want to send you back to being the monster I turned you into. You've worked so hard for both of us to preserve your humanity along with trying to...Well, give me a taste of it I suppose. _

Effie grinned and cast an affectionate glance in his direction. She walked quietly and carefully over to him in the darkness and took his hand in hers.

_Now that, I can be glorified for. I'll let you give me credit for that. What made you want to be human?_

_It got tiring being a monster. _

_But it was all you knew. How could you abandon all of that?_

_The same way you were able to abandon the life you knew. _

This words were supposed to sting but she knew it was true and the intention of the use of such words weren't supposed to be used to hurt. Like a normal person should be able to translate, he was just trying to explain to her in a way she should be able to understand.

_So what else is there I should know. _

_Well...There is something. You know how vampires can't reproduce?_

_Yes, but you were born. _

_Exactly. Only pure-bloods can. It's because other vampires have only a diluted strain on the vampire gene. That's why you'll have these powers which is beyond the norm of most vampires. _

_But I'll be diluted nonetheless. _

_Yes, but not as much as them. Anyway, what I'm getting at is...you can have children. _

_How do you know?_

Alexis was quiet for a moment. He looked confused and somewhat distrustful.

_I thought you knew...I thought you were aware and just didn't want to tell me..._

_Tell you what?_

_That you are with child. Our child. _

Effie couldn't breath. She couldn't move. She was with child? Of course he would be able to detect these things as their bond was stronger than the norm. Now finding out that he was a pure blood it may be stronger than she realised. Maybe other vampires didn't have a bond at all when they were infected by another. Perhaps there was more that she didn't know now after being told the truth.

_We have a child?_

_Yes. _

She let out a joyful, unbelieving sigh and brought her hand to her stomach. She was going to have a child. A son? A daughter? Maybe even twins. She didn't seem to care at all really. She was going to have a child with Alexi. This was what she wanted. She always wanted to be able to give birth to the child of Alexis the moment she fell in love with him and swore revenge against him. The second she realised how much she loved and hated him.

_We have to get out of here, Alexi. _

_Yes, its too dangerous for the child for you to fight. _

_No, Alexi. None of us are going to fight-_

A creature jumped out of the bushes cutting through the night wind more swiftly than Effie imagined could be possible for a werewolf. He stopped right in front of Effie and stood a foot or two above her. She had to admit she thought it would be taller. The fur looked razor sharp and was a dark, dull grey. The teeth weren't as sharp as hers but they were more ferocious than hers. The eyes. The eyes are what frightened her more than anything. You could see that there was a soul inside there however she also knew that this soul was trapped and unconscious. She couldn't imagine anything more terrifying than not being in control. She feared lack of control. She feared the monster within her and preferred it the way round where the monster was caged not her.

_Alexi..._

_Just remain calm. _

The werewolf threw its claw in her face which she narrowly dodged. She stepped back a bit only to realise there was a couple more behind her. Alexis threw himself on top of them and battled with them. She turned back to the first on and ran towards it.

_Are you alright?_

_He missed. _

Effie drew her hand back and threw her palm into its chest sending it flying backwards into a tree. When it was knocked down it fell over a few of the other werewolves approaching to inspect what the noise was. She turned back to Alexis who was now just depending on his speed.

_We need to go. We have a few seconds to get away. _

_Alright. We're not going to win this fight._

Alexis threw one last punch and ran off after Effie. He took her hand in his and shot through the cold, Scottish night air like a shark through water. He had never taken a hold of her hand so tightly, she had no idea how she could tell and why it was important. It was important to her heart and soul but right now it wasn't even remotely important but it was just one of those minor details she couldn't help but notice.

"We can't outrun them." Effie blinked finding him speaking again also a very strange concept. He turned back to Effie then looked downwards as if at the unborn child.

"What are you- Alexi." She reached and touched his cheek. "What are you going to do?"

"I have to hold them off-"

"No."

"It's the only way, Effie-"

Effie was shaking her head, sobbing, tears spilling down her cheek already. "I won't leave you. I can't be parted from you. We couldn't take them together."

"I'm not going to fight them I'm just going to hold them off. We won't be separated I promise." He took her face in his hands and kissed her forcefully and deeply. He ripped himself away from her and ran back into the darkness shrouded by the trees.

_Go, Effie. Go. _

Effie didn't move. She couldn't. She was too afraid of what may happen if she left him.

_GO EFFIE!_

This shocked her into spinning around and running for her life. His voice was as forceful as the departing kiss he gave her. The cold wind stung against her eyes and was so tightly pressed against her skin she felt like she was being suffocated. She was running so fast she thought time and space were rushing past her. She found herself in front of the hotel within the blinking of an eye. She walked up the steps shakily and requested the key which was given to her graciously and with no questions asked. However she did pass a maid who gave her a questioning glance, Effie ignored it and walked into her room.

She laid on the bed for a time she couldn't measure. The stars continued to hang high in the sky and shine with majestic brightness. Then such a force hit her so tremendously it was like being hit by a wild tidal wave. She felt like she was having her heart being pulled out of her throat. She felt like she had been set alight. She felt like she had been stabbed in her gut. All these sensations and many other horrific ways of dying she experienced all at the same time and she knew what this meant. She knew this meant that he was dead. She called out to him but there was no answer. This was his pain that she was feeling. The painful death which she shared with him but at the same time she wasn't. When this hit her she didn't sob. She howled. She howled like those wretched werewolves that killed her husband.


	18. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Being Human

A/N: Wow. We're finally at the final chapter! I've completed two other stories but this still doesn't fail to be surreal and bizarre and I have so many thank you's to make. So here they are.

Thank you **kattie-anz**, **MaxRideRox** and **Loving-the-greek-system **for your reviews. Reviews are my life and you've all given me such positive reviews which always make my day so thank you so much. However there has to be a special thanks to **kattie-anz **and **MaxRideRox **for favouriting and alerting my story you've both been really great and it's been wonderful to get to know you both through the messages I've received from you.

Also I get to announce the result of my poll: If someone was to play Effie Blackwood and the result is...Phoebe Tonkin. If you are familiar with 'H20: Just add water' then its the girl who plays Cleo who has been chosen by the majority who would be the best to play Effie. I have to admit I'm a bit surprised by the result but I would be happy (if it was my choice and job) to cast Phoebe Tonkin in the role if I was a writer on the show and in charge of casting. Absolutely.

Anyway thank you all for your support and also I hope you're all happy to hear that there will be a sequel in the future named **The Revenge of the Blackwoods**. So this isn't going to be the end of adventures of Effie Blackwood. Not by a long shot. Anyway, here's the final chapter and I hope you enjoy it and I'll give as many of you as I can contact a shout out when the sequel's coming out. So pretty much the people I've mentioned in this introduction. Anyway, see you in the future! PixieGirl17

Epilogue

For **MyLittleStorys**

The morning sun rose slowly. Too slowly in comparison to the life or what she could see as most of time on the earth for Effie Blackwood so far. Sometimes it seemed like it passed in the blinking of an eye but this morning everything was different. She felt different. She felt like she had lost something. She wanted to push that thought aside as being a result of paranoia. She was just thinking about the worst case scenario which was pretty understandable given the circumstances. Life was going to be far more slower now that Alexis was gone. She kept thinking that he was gone...Maybe he was...She never thought that she was able to feel more pain than she already had done. Just when she had faced the pain of losing the ones she loved in one life, she had to facing losing the one she loved in this one. She found it surprising that this time it was a thousand times more painful. A thousand times more damning. She was going to be more alone. The length of time it will take until she sees him again will be much longer than if she were a human. Human. Such a strange word. Such a strange concept. Being human was going to be completely, utterly impossible for her now. Now that Alexis was gone. That was gone too now. Everything was passing her by and disappearing into thin air.

She eventually found the strength to get up from the bed and sit up. She could at least do that but that was no where near being something which could make up for the fact that she had lost the love of her life. No, he meant more to her than that. That was such a human thing to say. Vampires lived in an existence which was much more complex than that of a humans. As she stared out the window, out into the world she found it so strange that her face felt so dry after feeling she had cried for a thousand years without stopping. She wouldn't even be surprised if she was crying in her sleep, although she wasn't even sure if she was able to sleep last night at all. Her sense of reality had become that distorted. She found it so strange that there was so much turmoil inside her but she felt so empty, so wasted of all emotion. How can such things be possible? How can her existence be possible? It frightened her how such things could be possible but impossible at the same time. It meant that there was no predictability. Everything would be unexpected. She thought she and Alexis would live forever. Together. Then she, Alexis and their child would be together.

Now Alexis was gone. Now it was only her and the child. She touched her stomach as if to comfort him or her. She knew that they would know that they would be born into the world without a father to look after both the mother and the child. She had to be a mother and a father. A protector and a nurturer. A monster and an angel. How was she going to pull that one off? She had seen millions of unwed mothers do it before. During the war, before that and she was sure that this was something that was going to continue but they were human. She wasn't. Ivan and Daisy were right. Vampires weren't supposed to be mothers. She turned back to the bed wanting to lay down again. It would be able to take her mind off things if she just rested. She needed it anyway. When she turned rough then she saw something.

Something that would shatter all her hopes of her being happy. There was a huge stain of red on the mattress around where she had been sleeping. She only noticed it out of the corner of her eye. She could have almost missed it. She reached down to brush her finger tips against the spot with a shaking hand knowing what the mark signified but still wanted to touch it, to make sure that it was real and that she wasn't having another one of her nightmares. She felt colder than she ever had done in decades. For the entirety she had been a vampire she had never felt so cold hearted in her life. Everything that was good or bright had been washed away. She brushed her fingers against the area and shook all over. Before she was about to cry out there was a knock on the door which made Effie jump from the bed. She stared at the intruder, which turned out to be a maid. An elderly woman with a kind face.

"Hello, dear. I was just wondering how you and your husband were after yesterday."

Effie nodded and in a panic covered up the stain with the duvet, which was surprisingly unstained. "Yes, thank you."

The woman frowned. "Are you sure, dear?"

Effie gulped willing the woman to leave. "Yes, thank you. I'm sorry if we caused a problem around here. I just needed to see someone and it was very last minute. I left my husband a note but sometimes he's so impossible..." She laughed weakly.

The maid laughed with her and looked around the room. "Where is your husband now? He hasn't checked into the hotel yet and I was just wondering..."

The woman sighed and tilted her head. Effie shook her head and tried to compose herself.

"Everything's fine. Thank you for your concern but it's really not necessary."

The woman stared at Effie's frightened, distressed expression and nodded. "Alright." She replied in a faint voice.

She was about to leave but then turned back to her with a frown on her face. "Your voice...I thought it sounded familiar. Are you from around here?"

Effie sighed and nodded. "Yes. I used to live in a cottage. Near here...But I lost my family and I had to move away."

The woman nodded with sympathy. Perhaps she knew what it felt like to loose one's family. Or even a child...

"It is a shame when that happens. But we carry on living don't we?"

She walked out the door with Effie knowing she was going to send someone up in about half an hour.

Effie sunk to her feet and began to sob, clutching her belly where her child no longer was. Dead inside along with everything else. It was always going to be born of two beings already dead but she was never going to be able to see what her child would look like. She would never hear its first words. She would never see it take its first step. She was never going to be able to have any of that. When she thought that there could be a piece of Alexis to remain with her in the world it was ripped out from inside her in the night as those pack of werewolves had taken her husband. She began to shake again only this time this wasn't out of sorrow. But out of anger. Alexis had told her about werewolves the night before. How they were believed to be lower than the vampires. How vampires were in control of them, higher than them for some reason. It was Effie's fragility which blinded her from the truth. The truth was that werewolves were animals. They became mindless, merciless creatures which couldn't control themselves. Absent of reason. Vampires were at least still conscious when they took the life of another. She bet that a werewolf who had crossed past with their loved ones would attack and kill them without a second thought. That was how monstrous and despicable they were.

If you had asked her a few years ago if she would ever allow herself to be consumed by the beast again she would fiercely reply with a short answer: No. However now she was more than willing for it to take over. She knew that if she had the beast on her side again she was able to commit the one thing she wanted now more than anything: Revenge. Revenge for not just the death of her child and husband but also from having that chance of being human being stripped away from her. They had taken that from her now. There was no turning back. There was no point in pretending any more. She allowed these dark thoughts to grow in her mind. To consume her. Possess her because it was only anger that was able to touch her now. It was the only thing she could now feel running through her veins. Despair, hope, regret were foreign, distant things. Anger was the only thing she was capable of feeling now. It was the only thing which could motivate her or make her function. It was the only thing which was capable of giving her an answer for everything she wanted and needed. She began to rip against the bed clothes and throw them in the air. She laughed manically. She roared with hellish wrath. She knew what she was going to do now. In order to face and fight monsters you had to know the monster. She had been a monster before, she could do it again.

She looked out the window and smiled. "I'm coming for you, lyco's." She whispered with a devilish grin on her face.

The door opened abruptly which Effie turned to with such inhuman sharpness it made the young girl gasp. It was the girl from the night before. The one with the smug smile. Effie hated that girl's smile. She wasn't smiling now.

"Miss, I heard something. I just thought I might come up to see what was wrong."

Effie got to her feet and walked towards the girl slowly, seductively with a dangerous look on her face.

"Did you mother never tell you about the noises in the night? Did she never tell you those stories? Did you ever listen?" She whispered leaning into the girl's face.

"Or did you think she was making it up?" Effie's eyes went black and quickly covered the girl's mouth as she was about to scream and pulled her into the room closing the door behind her.

"Well you should've listened...because its all true. You see we've been here for centuries, all without you knowing. You all thought you were so clever. You all think you've got it figured out. The fairies don't exist they just belong in fairy tales and dreams. Vampires aren't real, they just exist in horror stories. But I can assure you we are very real."

She stroked the girls neck, feeling the pumping, warm blood in her veins. She could almost taste the metallic, juicy liquid in her mouth.

"When you hear a noise in the night you don't run to it. You hide under the bedsheets and pray that they don't come out to get you." She chuckled darkly and bared her fangs ready to dig her teeth into her flesh. "Well you can't run now can you?"


End file.
